Reggae Giant Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Dies at 85 in Jamaica

Legendary reggae producer and performer Lee “Scratch” Perry—who worked with everyone from Bob Marley to the Beastie Boys—has died in Jamaica at the age of 85. No cause of death was given for Perry, who was such an important figure that the prime minister tweeted his condolences. The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards once called Perry—a pioneer of dub who won a Grammy in 2003—the “Salvador Dali of music.” For years he operated out of studio he built in his backyard, nicknamed the Black Ark, that he later burned to the ground because he thought was possessed by evil spirits. The episode did not slow him down creatively and he continued his prolific output into the next millennium.