NEW YORK (AP) — Blues singer Rosco Gordon died on July 11 of a heart attack at his home in the city's Queens borough. He was 74.
Rosco was known for 1950s hits including "Booted," "No More Doggin'," "Do the Chicken" and "Just a Little Bit," which sold more than four million copies in covers by Etta James, Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Jerry Butler.
His offbeat, rhythmic style influenced the early sounds of ska and reggae after he toured the Caribbean in the late '50s, The New York Times said Monday. Gordon quit the music business in the 1960s and invested his winnings from a poker game in a dry cleaning business.
He started his own record label in 1969 and returned to concert performances in 1981.
