01/20/2026
Gone but will never be forgotten🙏🫡❣️
The Third World co-founder helped carry Jamaican music into the world — with melody, discipline, and a musician’s soul.
Kingston, Jamaica — Reggae icon Stephen “Cat” Coore, the instrumentalist, singer, arranger and founding member of the legendary reggae-fusion band Third World, has died on January 18, 2026, World Music Views (WMV) has confirmed.
Coore, born April 6, 1956, was one of the most distinctive musicians in Jamaican music history — an artist who carried classical training into reggae without ever stripping it of its roots. His ability to weave cello-level sophistication and guitar brilliance into heavy Caribbean rhythm helped define Third World’s sound for more than five decades, and helped push reggae beyond borders at a time when global recognition was far from guaranteed.
With Third World, Coore helped create some of the genre’s most recognizable international recordings, including “96 Degrees in the Shade” and the worldwide smash “Now That We Found Love,” which became a defining moment for reggae on international pop charts.
More on WMV. Link in bio.
