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Famed musician Noel Brown, one of five Brown brothers, including Glenn, Danny and Clevi, and the late Dalton, died at the weekend in Wolverhampton, England. His death comes on the second anniversary of the death of his brother Dalton, who died in October 2020 just days after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.
Noel, who moved to the UK nearly two years ago, appears to have suffered a heart attack, according to reports.
“His old friend Country was in the house when he heard moans coming from downstairs. He rushed down and found Noel on the ground and immediately called paramedics. They were very quick on the scene but unlike before, They couldn’t save him,” a source told scavenger.
As of press time, the Brown family was not ready to make a public statement. However, Lenworth ‘DJ Squeeze’ Samuels, who has a family relationship with his brother, noted that Noel’s death was “shocking”. He praised Noel as “one of the pillars of the Jamaican music industry” and offered his condolences to the Brown matriarch and family.
“Just the other day I was talking to Clevie and he said this year is the 50th anniversary of the Browne Bunch…a group of brothers…If only Noel could come, especially since Dalton is no longer with us More than a week later, Noel died,” Samuels lamented.
His association with the Browns dates back to high school, when he and Danny both attended Jamaica College and Noel was a student at Kingston College. They would all meet after school, because the Browns were “a center for young people.”
Samuels added: “Mrs Brown never turned anyone down. As the years went by, I rehearsed with them and I can say I learned something musically from all my brothers. Noel was a keyboard player and was He taught me the word “bridge.” He was the first to teach me song introductions, and it was just informal learning. It’s hard to lose another Brown like this. I feel like I lost a brother.”
Born on December 26, 1957, Noel is described as “a steward of Jamaican music, bringing brilliant colour and vibrancy to original compositions by some of the greatest artists”.
As a member of Browne Bunch, he got into music in the early ’70s. The group consists of him and his brother Glenn (bass); Dalton and Danny (guitar); and Clevie (keyboard).
The group’s profile says they started as a teenage bro music group in the ’70s, like the Jackson 5, and enjoyed it for a short time before disbanding in the late ’10s. The musical paths that followed them, though broad, always brought them back together. There were attempts to regroup in 1983 and 2015, but scheduling conflicts made it incredibly challenging.
Noel Browne brought his talents as a keyboard player to the UK and worked with many, including the late Dennis Brown, Glen Washington and Papa San.
Samuels shared that he has worked on several projects with Noel, who has extensive knowledge of the music industry.
Broadcaster Richard ‘Richie B’ Burgess paid tribute to Noel as the “old statesman” of reggae.
“I am truly saddened to learn of the passing of another member of the Brown royal family of Jamaican musicians. Noel is an elder statesman and a treasure trove of knowledge in the history of our music. I recently heard him speak about Jamaica’s 14 Indigenous music in which he named kumina, etu, dinkie minnie, jonkanoo, pocomania, and mento. Noel went on to seamlessly establish the relationship between these sounds and African beats today, explaining that “Jamaicais were It’s no surprise that these beats are drawn, because they’re embedded in our DNA”. How deep! May his soul rest in peace, and the eternal light shines on him,” Burgess said.
On his social media pages, in one of his last posts, Noel Brown shared a photo of himself dancing and having fun. His brother Glenn responded: “I Breda, I Breda, I miss you, I love you. Keep dancing, keep playing your harp. Rastafari loves it.”
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