Singer whose hit single Police and Thieves reflected on Jamaica's political and social upheavals
The Jamaican singer Junior Murvin, who has died aged 67 after suffering from diabetes and hypertension, was celebrated for his mastery of falsetto and for writing unusual lyrics that made good use of folk wisdom. His anthem-like Police and Thieves, recorded in 1976, promptly inspired noteworthy cover versions by, among others, the Clash.
Murvin's single was a hit in Jamaica and was released in the UK by Island Records. In London it became a soundtrack to the violent disturbances of that year's Notting Hill Carnival. The Clash's popular version, and the use of Murvin's original in the Jamaican film Rockers (1978), led to belated UK chart success for Murvin. Police and Thieves reached No 23 in 1980, bringing him an appearance on Top of the Pops.
Born Murvin Junior Smith – most likely in 1946, although some sources say 1949 – he was raised by his great-grandmother in the bustling coastal market town of Port Antonio. His father died when Murvin was young, and his mother subsequently emigrated. At the local Methodist church, Murvin operated the pump for the pipe organ but he was too shy to join the choir.
Instead, rhythm and blues emboldened him: by the age of six, he was delighting neighbours with renditions of songs by Billy Eckstine, Louis Armstrong, Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole, though Curtis Mayfield ultimately became his most obvious influence.
Murvin attended Port Antonio junior and senior schools and, after the death of his great-grandmother, went to live with his grandmother in Glendevon, near Montego Bay. He studied car mechanics at Montego Bay technical high school, and was encouraged to pursue singing after making an impact at concerts staged at the Palladium theatre by the local singer Errol "ET" Webster.
After an aunt sent him a guitar from the US, Murvin began writing songs such as Solomon, a warning to an unruly girlfriend that drew on biblical tales. After singing for the veteran saxophonist Roland Alphonso at a Rastafarian encampment, Murvin travelled to Kingston to audition for the Beverley's Records label, but he was summoned back to Montego Bay before he could make a recording. Another audition, with Lee "Scratch" Perry at Studio One, was similarly fruitless.
Murvin moved to Kingston at the height of the rock-steady era to stay with an aunt in Trench Town, the west Kingston slum that was home to many impressive singers. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Ken Boothe and the Heptones were all making a dramatic impact then, and Murvin gained valuable pointers from them.
Taking the stage name Junior Soul, he passed through the Hippy Boys, and then approached the singer turned producer Derrick Harriott, who gambled on Murvin's Solomon by voicing the record himself, yielding a sizeable hit. Murvin soon recorded some excellent rock steady of his own, including Glendevon Special (aka Chatty Chatty) for Harriott, which again castigated an unruly girlfriend, plus the lewd Miss Cushie for the producer Sonia Pottinger. As the new reggae sound came storming in, equally strong singles followed, with the spirited ballads Magic Touch and The Hustler handled by Harriott, and the bouncing Slipping and Jennifer by Pottinger.
Murvin then enjoyed a long residence with the Falcons, but returned to Port Antonio in 1975 fronting Young Experience, led by the trumpeter Bobby Ellis. The group was close to the socialist-leaning prime minister Michael Manley, who arranged for them to tour Cuba, and to perform at a birthday party for his wife, Beverley. Their single Wise Rasta Man expressed Murvin's belief in Rastafarianism, but the band soon floundered, leading Murvin to concentrate on songwriting.
Armed with some of his strongest material, addressing the political and social upheavals that were having such adverse effects on Jamaica, Murvin travelled to Perry's Black Ark studio in May 1976. Police and Thieves immediately captured Perry's attention and, after adding lyrics of his own, Perry arranged for Murvin to record it with the drummer Sly Dunbar, the bassist Boris Gardiner and the guitarist Ernest Ranglin. Murvin's debut album, also named Police and Thieves, was highly acclaimed, but a planned follow-up was scuppered by Perry's breakdown in the late 1970s.
Cool Out Son was an impressive effort cut for the producer Joe Gibbs in 1980, but following a series of robberies at Gibbs' studio, Murvin retreated to Port Antonio. His subsequent albums were strong, but did not receive their due: Bad Man Posse (1982) was produced by the DJ turned producer Mikey Dread; Muggers in the Street (1984) was issued by the top-ranking dancehall producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes and sought to update the Police and Thieves theme; Apartheid (1986) was a digital dancehall effort produced by King Jammy. The 1988 album Signs and Wonders, with the New York-based producer Delroy Wright, barely registered. Underground interest was re-ignited when Murvin recorded Wise Man for Dubwise Productions in 1998, and Makasound released a likeable acoustic retrospective in 2007 as part of their Inna De Yard series.
Murvin is survived by five children and eight grandchildren.
• Junior Murvin (Murvin Junior Smith), singer and songwriter, born 1946; died 2 December 2013