Stranger Cole was born Wilburn Theodore Cole in 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica, receiving the nickname “Stranger” because he resembled no one else in his family. Cole began his recording career with producer Duke Reid, scoring a hit with his 1962 debut, “Rough & Tough,” a full-tilt ska number with a wild harmonica solo. His Louis Jordan revival song, “Run Joe,” was a hit in 1965, and featured members of the Techniques on harmony vocals.