Ernie Smith celebration of life set for May 16 in Florida

Fans, friends and members of the Jamaican music fraternity will gather at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Hollywood, Florida, on Saturday, May 16, 2026, for the official celebration of life for Glenroy “Ernie” Smith. A thanksgiving service in Jamaica will follow at a later date, giving the diaspora and the island’s music community two chances to honor one of reggae’s most distinctive voices.

The Florida service carries clear practical meaning for the people who followed Smith across borders and generations. He lived in Florida with his wife, Claudette, and the family said the decision reflects both where he spent his later years and the wishes he made for how such an occasion should be handled. Claudette said Ernie loved Jamaica, a detail that gives the memorial a deeply personal frame even as it opens the door for a wider public farewell.

Smith died on April 16, 2026, in Florida after a hospital stay that included surgery. He was 80. His death brought renewed attention to a career that reached far beyond a single hit or era. In 1972, he won Japan’s Yamaha Music Festival with Life Is Just For Living, a song that remains one of the clearest markers of his international reach. The following year, Jamaica recognized him with the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the Field of Music.

That mix of achievement and affection helps explain why the May 16 service matters to reggae fans beyond Jamaica. Smith occupied a space where reggae met folk and storytelling, and he built a catalog that felt close to the everyday lives of listeners. His songs carried a gentle humanity that never tried to shout over the music around him; instead, they stayed with people.

The Florida farewell, followed by a later service in Jamaica, reflects the transnational life Smith lived and the transnational audience he left behind. For many reggae followers, the date is also an invitation to return to Life Is Just For Living and the rest of a songbook that helped define an era without ever losing its warmth.