Hot Chocolate Frontman Errol Brown Passes At Age 71
Errol Brown, lead singer of Hot Chocolate, died yesterday at the age of 71 in his home in the Bahamas after a long bout with liver cancer. The Kingston-born, UK-bred singer's pungent mid-range croon has been prominently featured on early disco classics like "You Sexy Thing" and the soul standard "Brother Louie," now enjoying a second wind as the all-too-proper theme song for Louis CK's hit series Louie. Brown first came on the scene when he sent John Lennon a take on "Give Peace A Chance" hoping to be granted permission to change the lyrics, which led to the song being released through the Beatles-founded Apple Records. In the years following Hot Chocolate's success, Brown led a solo career, striking gold with the club-certified single "Body Rocking," which was produced by sampling pioneer Richard James Burgess. He leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a legacy of uplifting numbers that have been embraced by the masses and the charts over a near 50 year run of writing and touring across the world. So here's to the man that taught us to believe in miracles. Rest in power, Errol Brown.