Gary “Dr. Dread” Himelfarb, founder and former head of RAS Records, has described Cecil “Skelly” Spence of Israel Vibration as a “rebel who was the personification of Rasta.”
Spence died in a Brooklyn, New York Hospital on August 26 of Stage 4 lung cancer. He was 69 years-old.
Israel Vibration signed to Washington DC-based RAS Records in the late 1980s. The group recorded and released 16 (studio, live, dub and compilations) for the independent label, starting with “Strength of My Life” in 1988.
The three original members — others being Albert “Apple” Craig and Lascelle “Wiss” Bulgin — migrated to the United States early that decade for improved health care. They contracted polio during the outbreak of that disease in Jamaica during the 1950s.
Prior to migration, Israel Vibration had a big hit in Jamaica with “The Same Song”, released in 1978. With RAS, they had several hit singles including “Strength of My Life” and “Rudeboy Shufflin’”.
They also developed a strong following in Europe, Brazil and the United States West Coast.
Himelfarb remembers Spence as a man of substance.
“He was a tough person, but he was also very proud to live in Brooklyn and own a house there,” he said.
Spence and Bulgin continued to record and tour as a duo after Craig left in 1997. Craig died in 2020.
Written By Howard Campbell