Stranger Cole has been played on NTS over 30 times, featured on 37 episodes and was first played on 1 June 2013.

Stranger Cole was born Wilburn Theodore Cole in 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica, receiving the nickname “Stranger” because he resembled no one else in his family.

Cole began his recording career with producer Duke Reid, scoring a hit with his 1962 debut, “Rough & Tough,” a full-tilt ska number with a wild harmonica solo. His Louis Jordan revival song, “Run Joe,” was a hit in 1965, and featured members of the Techniques on harmony vocals.

Stranger frequently used duet partners, most notably Millicent “Patsy” Todd and…