Stranger Cole

Early life

Wilburn Theodore Cole was born on 26 June 1942 in Kingston and grew up in Trench Town. His family called him "Stranger" because they thought he did not resemble any of his relatives. He first had success as a songwriter, writing "In and Out the Window", a hit for Eric "Monty" Morris.

Duke Reid and the ska years

Cole began recording in 1962 for Arthur "Duke" Reid, and "Rough and Tough" and "When You Call My Name", a duet with Patsy Todd, were immediate hits. He is said to have preferred duets because he was shy singing alone, and he recorded many sides with Todd as Stranger and Patsy. He also sang with Ken Boothe on "Thick in Love" (1963) and "I Want to Go Home" (1964). Other ska singles included "Uno Dos Tres" (1964), "Koo Koo Doo" (1965) and "Drop the Ratchet" (1966). Over the decade he recorded for Reid, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Prince Buster, with UK releases on Island, Blue Beat, Black Swan and Doctor Bird.

Rocksteady and early reggae

With pianist Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson he recorded "Just Like a River" and "Seeing Is Knowing" (both 1968). "Bangarang" (1968), credited to Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole and issued on Bunny Lee's Unity label, was one of the first records in the new reggae rhythm. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he also worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry and Sonia Pottinger, and he wrote and produced "Oh My Baby", the first single by the Mighty Diamonds.

Toronto

Cole moved to the United Kingdom in 1971 and on to Toronto in 1973. He worked as a machinist, recorded for local labels such as Half Moon, started his own imprint and ran a Caribbean record shop in Kensington Market. The 2018 documentary Ruff and Tuff: Stranger Cole's Toronto Roots covers this period. He died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston on 11 June 2026, aged 83.