Producer Trevor Elliott, known for Edi Fitzroy hits, dies at 74

Jamaican music producer Trevor Elliott, whose early-1980s collaborations with singer Edi Fitzroy scored major chart hits, has died in Florida. He was 74. Relatives announced his passing on social media, saying he died on July 5.

Elliott entered production while employed at the government-run Jamaica Information Service in the late 1970s, launching the Music Ambassador imprint. Around that time he crossed paths with Fitzroy, a roots singer who then worked as an accountant at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, also a state agency.

The pair’s alliance delivered three major successes for Fitzroy: The Gun, Check For You Once and Princess Black.

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer in 2017, not long after Fitzroy died, Elliott described their bond. “He was a very humble man…loved people. Edi was a true professional,” he said.

Elliott had lived for many years in North Florida. After relocating to the United States he kept producing, including sessions with Marcia J Ball and with Vernon Buckley of The Maytones.

“I was honoured to work with a legendary producer/artiste. He was such a humble soul,” Ball said. She was among the artists featured on Sweet Like Sugar: A Tribute To The Late Sugar Minott, a 2017 compilation honouring the lovers rock star who died in 2010.

A thanksgiving service for Elliott is scheduled for July 18 at New Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida.