Reggae singer, founding member of the popular Jamaican trio The Heptones
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 24, 1947
Died in Kingston, Jamaica, on November 23, 2011
Began singing around the age of 14, and formed the Heptones with Earl Morgan and Leroy Sibbles shortly afterward.
Although Leroy Sibbles wrote and sang lead on most of the group’s songs, he credited Mr. Llewellyn — also known to friends and fans as Barry Heptones — for his creative influence.
“He was more than a member of the group,” Leroy Sibbles said. “Barry had more talent than the other guys who were singing with us. He was more musical. He added more inspiration.”
Usually responsible for singing harmonies, Mr. Llewellyn took the lead on songs like “Nine Pounds of Steel” and “Take Me Darling” as well as the Heptones’ biggest international hit, “Book of Rules,” which he adapted from “Bag of Tools,” a poem by R. L. Sharpe.
Though he lived in Brooklyn, he was in Jamaica working to establish a learning center to help young people in his native Kingston. “The youth need that father figure,” according to Ms. Llewellyn “That’s what he was really focusing on.
Barry Llewellyn died at the age of 63 in Kingston Public Hospital, because of pneumonia.