The success that was predicted for teenaged ska and reggae band
Musical Youth when their pro-marijuana single "Pass the Dutchie" sold more than four million copies in 1982 failed to come to fruition. Within three years, the band, who featured vocalist
Dennis Seaton, keyboardist
Michael Grant, and the
Waite brothers --
Patrick, who played bass and Freddie Junior, who played drums -- had gone their separate ways. Although a reunion was conceived in 1993, the premature death of
Patrick Waite at the age of 30 while in police custody put an end to these plans. The members of
Musical Youth were attending Duddleston Manor School in Birmingham when the group was formed by the
Waite brothers and their father,
Frederick Waite, a former member of Jamaican vocal group
the Techniques, who initially handled lead vocals. After the band signed with MCA in 1981,
Dennis Seaton was recruited to sing lead. The following year, they hit gold with their single "Pass the Dutchie," based on
the Mighty Diamonds' hit "Pass the Kouchie." Although the band released several subsequent singles, including "Unconditional Love" with
Donna Summer and "Sixteen," they were unable to match the success of "Pass the Dutchie." The group splintered after the departure of
Seaton in 1985.
–
Craig Harris, Rovi