Jamaica's Prime Minister Leads Tribute to Singer Ernie Smith

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has led the nation in paying tribute to the 80-year-old Glenroy Anthony Michael Archangelo Smith, better known in the entertainment world as Ernie Smith.

Singer Eric SmithSmith, whose easy-listening songs ruled Jamaican airwaves during the 1970s,  passed away at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida on Thursday, his manager, Joanna Marie Robinson said.

Smith’s wife, Claudette Bailey Smith, said the singer he died shortly after suffering “cardiac incidents”. Early this week, she disclosed that he underwent a “surgical procedure” on April 9, two days after being admitted to the hospital and was placed in the Intensive Care Unit.

The wife said that while the surgery was successful, Smith was “heavily sedated” and placed on a ventilator.

In a statement, Prime Minister Holness said that he joins the nation is mourning the passing of Smith and that “his unmistakable voice and powerful storytelling gave us timeless songs like Life is Just for Living, Duppy or Gunman, and Pitta Patta, which have become part of the soundtrack of our lives.

“Ernie Smith’s contribution to Jamaican music is profound. From his emergence in the late 1960s and 1970s, he established himself as one of our most gifted songwriters and performers, earning admiration both at home and across the world,”  said Holness, extending his “deepest condolences”  to his wife, and family, friends, and the wider music fraternity.

“His legacy will continue to echo in the hearts of Jamaicans everywhere. May he rest in peace,”  said Holness.

Culture and Entertainment Minister, Olivia Grange, in paying tribute to the iconic reggae singer-songwriter, said his voice “will resound in hearts and memories forever”.

The main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) described Smith as a gifted creative whose music helped define a generation and capture the everyday spirit of the Jamaican people.

“As Jamaican music continued to grow and reach new audiences globally, he carved out a lane that was unmistakably his own: blending humour, storytelling and social observation into music that felt deeply personal yet widely relatable. His work did not seek to follow trends; it reflected life as it was lived, in all its simplicity and complexity,” the PNP said.

Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, said “Ernie’s immense talent as a songwriter delivered sweet melodies and profound lyrics which, combined with the rich smoothness of a truly great baritone voice, generated timeless hits that have become part of the soundtrack of our national journey.

“Popular favourites like Duppy Gunman, Life is Just for Living and Pitta Patta are classics that have enriched our popular culture and will last through the ages,” Golding said.

Smith had migrated to Canada in the late 1970s,  but returned to Jamaica in the 1990s,  becoming a popular attraction on the live show scene.