Dobby Dobson was a versatile Jamaican singer

Dobby Dobson, a Jamaican singer and songwriter who had numerous hits — most notably the 1967 ballad “I’m a Loving Pauper,” which both became his signature song and gave him his nickname — died July 21 in Coral Springs, Florida. He was 78.

His half sister Yasmin Morais said he died, in a hospital, of complications of the novel coronavirus.

Dobson was “quite a significant figure in the evolution of Jamaican popular music,” David Katz, author of “Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae” (2003), said in a phone interview.

Although Dobson was best known for sentimental ballads and cover songs,

Katz said, “If you scratch the surface, you find a diverse output.”

His early success was in a duo with singer Chuck Josephs; as Chuck and Dobby, they recorded for major producers like Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd. Beginning in 1960, the pair released a string of hit singles, including “Till the End of Time” and “Do Du Wap,” which mixed American R&B and doo-wop with Jamaica’s emerging ska sound.

Dobson went on to sing with groups like the Deltas and the Sheiks. But his breakthrough came as a solo act with “I’m a Loving Pauper,” a song he wrote.

With its laid-back feel and syncopated beat, the song typified the popular rocksteady sound, a precursor to reggae. And its message of being poor yet with plenty of love to give resonated with Jamaican audiences.

Numerous artists, including Gregory Isaacs, UB40 and Dillinger, have covered the song. “It’s become part of the Jamaican songbook,” Katz said.

In 2011, the Jamaican government awarded Dobson the Order of Distinction for his contributions to Jamaican culture.

Highland Ralph Dobson was born July 5, 1942, in Kingston. He later said that his mother, Maud (Elliott) Morais, who was a single parent when she raised him, was steadfastly against him singing.

“She was a devout Christian lady, and she felt you should spend your time doing your schoolwork,” he said in 2009 in a filmed interview with filmmaker Tony Watt.

After attending the College of Arts, Science and Technology in Kingston, where he earned a degree in marketing, Dobson held a series of day jobs while pursuing music, including as a proofreader for Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner and in sales at Colgate Palmolive.

A versatile singer, Dobson broadened his repertoire in the ‘70s to include pop covers like Tom Jones’ “That Wonderful Sound” and the Beatles’ “Carry That Weight.” He sang with country artist Skeeter Davis and later turned to gospel music when he became a bornagain Christian.

In addition to Morais, his half sister, Dobson is survived by five sons, a daughter, two other half sisters and four half brothers.