Clifton “Jackie” Jackson, the bass guitarist whose lines sit under some of the most enduring records ever made in Jamaica, died on the morning of Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, the Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer report. He was 79.

Jackson had been admitted to Cornwall Regional in July, his daughter Jheanell told the Observer; after an extended stay he was released, then taken back to hospital and died at 5:30 the following morning. His wife, the singer Karen Smith, with whom he led bands on the Montego Bay cabaret circuit for many years, died in September 2021. He leaves four daughters — Marie, Jhanine, Jheanell and Courtni.

For more than half a century his bass was synonymous with Toots and the Maytals. But the Gleaner is right to put the frame wider. Jackson belonged to the pioneering generation of Jamaican session players — men who worked largely outside the glare of the spotlight, and whose musicianship turned ska, rocksteady and reggae into music heard around the world. His death closes another chapter of that story.

Treasure Isle and the rocksteady bottom

Jackson came from central Kingston and was trained as a pianist. He switched to bass when he went to Treasure Isle, Duke Reid’s studio, where he held the bass chair in the Supersonics, the house band, through the rocksteady years of 1966 to 1968, the Jamaica Observer’s Howard Campbell recounted in a 2025 interview. There he played on hits by Alton Ellis, The Melodians, Ken Parker and Ken Boothe.

“Treasure Isle Studios was special for me, because I was given a chance to hone my craft and develop my creative ability without fear or intimidation,” Jackson told the Observer. Asked what he played there: “Four-string Fender Precision… dat mek all a di hit dem!” Among the rocksteady lines he named as favourites were Alton Ellis’s “Rock Steady,” The Jamaicans’ “Ba Ba Boom,” The Wailers’ “Thank You Lord,” The Melodians’ “You’ve Caught Me Baby” and “Little Nut Tree,” Ken Boothe’s “Say You,” The Techniques’ “Queen Majesty” and Dobby Dobson’s “I’m a Loving Pauper.”

The Gleaner lists his credits as taking in Bob Marley and the Wailers, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, The Melodians and Desmond Dekker, with an international résumé that included the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. The Observer’s obituary, by Howard Campbell, is more specific about where those records were made. At Treasure Isle the Supersonics backed “Girl I’ve Got a Date” by Alton Ellis, “Little Nut Tree” by The Melodians and “Queen Majesty” by The Techniques. For producer Leslie Kong, Jackson played on “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker and the Aces, “Rivers of Babylon” by The Melodians, and “The Harder They Come” and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” by Jimmy Cliff. In 1972 he, guitarist Hux Brown and keyboardist Neville Hinds were among the Jamaican musicians on Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion,” cut at Dynamic Sounds in Kingston for the American singer’s debut solo album that year. The Observer also names “Hypocrites” by The Wailers among his reggae-era sessions.

Fifty years with Toots

The partnership with Toots Hibbert ran from the studio to the road. Jackson was a member of the Maytals band for some 50 years, a run that ended only with Hibbert’s death in 2020, the Observer notes. Along with guitarists Hux Brown and Radcliffe “Dougie” Bryan and drummers Winston Grennan and Paul Douglas, he helped craft what Reggae Vibes calls “the patented Maytals sound” on records like “Monkey Man,” “Funky Kingston,” “Pressure Drop” and “Sweet and Dandy.”

His fondest touring memory, he told the Observer, was the group’s first outing abroad: “Opening for Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles. Also, opening for The Rolling Stones.”

He stayed working. In 2025 he told the Observer he was still active on the north coast scene and planned to return to touring with oBessa, a band of former Maytals members. Last December he played in the band at Jimmy Cliff’s official funeral at the National Indoor Sports Centre, weeks after losing Bryan, his colleague of five decades, Reggae Vibes reported. And this past February, during Reggae Month, he was one of six bassists — with Flabba Holt, Donald Dennis, Daniel “Axeman” Thompson, Lloyd Parks and Boris Gardiner — on the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association’s Back 2 Bass-es show at the Edna Manley College, telling stories behind each song he played. “The beautiful thing about the music I’ve played over the years, is that it will always be there to provide inspiration for more generations to come,” he said then, per South Florida Caribbean News. “And that is something I can be really proud of.”

Honours and tributes

Jackson was appointed to the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, in 2012 for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music, and the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association honoured him in 2018 for his exceptional contribution to reggae, the Observer notes. His death came during the 60th anniversary celebrations for rocksteady, the genre his Treasure Isle lines helped define.

Culture minister Olivia Grange called him “a sought-after bassist by producers which led to his bass lines complimenting some of the most memorable songs Jamaica has given to the world,” noting that he shared in Toots and the Maytals’ 2005 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. “Jamaica is richer for his life and his work, and his legacy will play on for as long as the world listens to our music,” she said, per the Observer’s September 27 follow-up.

The tributes from fellow bassists were plainer. Lloyd Parks, who knew him for more than 50 years and shared the Back 2 Bass-es stage with him in February: “He’s a man I always admire. He was low-profile, very humble, a genuine person. Me, him, and Boris Gardiner always got along.” Leroy Sibbles, who became Studio One’s bass player at the end of the 1960s while Jackson held down Treasure Isle: “I will always remember Jackson for the Treasure Isle style. A special line comes to mind… it’s the song called Stealing by John Holt. Rest in peace, General!”

Jackson is the latest of the veteran generation to go this year, after drummer Sly Dunbar, guitarist Stephen “Cat” Coore, singer-songwriter Ernie Smith and singer Stranger Cole, the Observer notes.

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Jamaica Observer — “Jackie Jackson, legendary Jamaican bass guitarist, dies at 79” (Howard Campbell, September 23, 2026; death, hospitalisation, Karen Smith, Treasure Isle and Leslie Kong credits, Paul Simon session, Order of Distinction); Jamaica Observer — “Jackie Jackson remembered for his impact” (Howard Campbell, September 27, 2026; hospital timeline, daughters, tributes from Olivia Grange, Lloyd Parks and Leroy Sibbles, honours); Jamaica Gleaner — “Reggae bass legend Jackie Jackson has died” (Janet Silvera, September 23, 2026; death, age, hospitalisation, family, credits); Jamaica Observer — “Hail, Jackie Jackson: ‘Bassy’ plans to resume touring this year” (Howard Campbell, March 2, 2025; Treasure Isle, quotes, favourite bass lines, touring); Reggae Vibes — “A Year of Loss for Jackie Jackson” (Howard Campbell, December 21, 2025; Maytals band, Jimmy Cliff funeral, credits); South Florida Caribbean News — “Classic Songs: A Journey Through Reggae History with Jackie Jackson” (Howard Campbell, April 10, 2026; Back 2 Bass-es, quotes).