While puttering in the garden of his home on July 1, 1999, bass player Lloyd Parkes says he heard breaking news on radio that singer Dennis Brown had died that morning at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

"The machete inna mi han' drop. I couldn't believe it," said Parkes.

Doctors said Brown died from respiratory failure. The man revered by fans as the Crown Prince of Reggae was just 42 years old.

For Parkes, it was the end of a friendship that began in the early 1970s when he accompanied the teenaged Brown on a tour of England. It was the biggest loss for reggae since Bob Marley's death in 1981.

10th anniversary of death

July 1 marks the 10th year since Brown's death. Although several compilations of his work have since been released, there is no definitive Dennis Brown collection in the mould of Songs Of Freedom, the comprehensive Marley set released in 1992 by Island Records.

Two years ago, the New York independent record company Shanachie Records released Best of The Joe Gibbs Years which covers Brown's work with that producer. Shanachie's president, Randall Grass, believes Brown's prolific output has prevented his catalogue from being a major seller.

"I think part of the problem is that Dennis always had so many albums in the market. Outside of Jamaica and the Jamaican community, I think he is underappreciated," Grass told Tidbits Thursday.

Derrick Harriott, the first person to record Brown, corroborates Grass' observation. At his Kingston record store, he says fans cannot get enough of Dennis Brown.

"He sells just about the same as Bob, there's always demand for Dennis," Harriott said.

Pre-teen hit

Brown was not yet a teenager when he cut Lips of Wine for Harriott. Featuring Rupert Bent on guitar and Jackie Jackson on bass, the song was a minor hit but Brown would have greater success with his next two producers: Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd and Winston 'Niney' Holness.

He was rarely off the charts during the 1970s with a mixture of lovers rock and message songs for Gibbs. Though many saw him as the heir to Marley's crown, it was not until the early 1980s that Brown was signed by a major label, A&M Records, for which he did two albums.

Tommy Cowan managed Marley and was Brown's last manager. He said while they are generally regarded as reggae's finest singers, there was one significant difference between them.

"Bob Marley was a serious businessman, I don't think Dennis was as serious when it came to investment," Cowan said. "Dennis was like a community person, he would earn money and in one hour he would give it away."

Not easy to manage

Cowan admits Brown was not the easiest act to manage.

"I'm not sure if he was afraid of flying but he made it most difficult to get him on an airplane," Cowan said.

While the hit songs dried up in the last 10 years of his life, rumours about Brown's personal life heightened. There was talk about his addiction to hard drugs, and when he started sporting earrings, many questioned his Rastafarian faith.

Strongly influenced by rocksteady balladeers Alton Ellis and John Holt, Brown inspired a new wave of reggae singers, including Barrington Levy, Junior Reid, Frankie Paul, Luciano and Richie Stephens.

In that department, Cowan says, Dennis Brown loses nothing to Marley.

"He is definitely one of Jamaica's finest singers, there can be no doubting that," Cowan said.