By then, Coxsone Dodd had already lured Duffus to his stable. The singer's first cut for the producer was What a Disaster, aimed straight at his feuding friends Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster. Even bigger was Fret Man Fret, another shot at the warring Prince, written by Lee Perry, the first in a series of hits the upcoming producer penned for Duffus, many commenting on the Prince Buster/Leslie Kong war. In 1963, perhaps bored with the battle, Duffus linked up with Vincent King Edwards, and unleashed another string of popular singles, among them Rukumbine, Digging a Ditch, and Bet You Don't Know. Moving on, in 1965 the singer recorded a clutch of fine boogies for Theo Beckford's newly launched King Pioneer label. At the dawn of the reggae age Duffus joined forces with Cornel Campbell to front the newly formed Now Generation band. The group's live work kept the singer busy, but Lee Perry lured him back into the studio in 1972. His re-recording of Bet You Don't Know was one of the clutch of Beat Down Babylon versions the Upsetter oversaw that year. It barely rippled the waters at the time, but 25 years later, thanks to the insertion of a single line sung in Amharic, the song became an instant hit in Egypt.
By 1972, Duffus was having less luck as Perry pushed him into cutting covers, and At the End, Goodnight My Love, and Sincerely all fell flat. Their final recording, however, a cover of William Bell's To Be a Lover, was different -- it was to become not only Perry's biggest hit of the year, but Duffus' most popular 45 ever. But even Perry seemed to have shortchanged the singer, and Duffus' returned to the stage and rarely left, eventually finding a happy niche with oldies fans. Although a pair of self-produced singles arrived in the early '80s, the singer obviously preferred the stage to the studio. He continued performing live right up to his death at 64 from heart failure. An extremely versatile performer, Duffus never lost his love for the blues, and brought a touch of it to all his music. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, Rovi