Jackie Edwards has been called the Nat King Cole of Jamaica for the smooth sentimental singing style that earned him the nickname The Cool Ruler long before Gregory Isaacs inherited the mantle. But there was much more to him than that.

Edwards’ extensive and eclectic repertoire spans ska, rocksteady, roots reggae, lovers rock, soul and rock, writing The Spencer Davis Group’s hits including the classic Keep On Running. This Northern Soul classic is a far cry from all of those.

Born Wilfred Gerald Edwards in 1938, Jackie as a star on the island by the late 1950s when he was discovered by future Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who persuaded him to relocate to the UK in 1962.

It was here in the mid-’60s that he wrote the first three chart hits for the Spencer Davis Group, including the classic Keep on Running, while another of his songs, Get Up, recorded in Jamaica with The Revolutionaries, went on to form the compositional base for The Clash’s Revolution Rock.

When Blackwell began steering Island more in the direction of rock in 1972, Edwards returned to Jamaica where he recorded what is arguably his best work with legendary producer Bunny Lee, who paired him with The Aggrovators on a series of roots reggae recordings like Peaceful Man.

Somewhat forgotten today, possibly because the clean-cut Edwards was more mainstream-looking than the typical dreadlocked Rastas of his era, he was as versatile a performer (and as good a songwriter) as the island ever produced.

This tune is still guaranteed to fill any Northern Soul dancefloor more than three decades after his death from a heart attack in 1992.