Jamaican singers and songwriters; Dowe died 2006, McNaughton died 2018
Dowe and McNaughton wrote “Rivers of Babylon” as members of The Melodians, adapting the texts of Psalms 137 and 19 into a Rastafari song. McNaughton had the idea of forming the group and brought in Tony Brevett, who recruited Brent Dowe; Dowe shared lead vocals with Brevett and left for a solo career in 1973. Dowe died of a heart attack in January 2006 at the age of 59. McNaughton, the last surviving original member, died on 20 November 2018 at 77.