Wilburn Theodore Cole was born in Kingston, Jamaica in July of 1942. He was nicknamed “Stranger” by his family members as he did not resemble anyone in his family. He began his career as a successful songwriter and wrote the hit “In and out the Window” for Eric “Monty” Morris, which would allow him to make his recording debut. He found success in 1962 with tracks “Rough and Tough” and “When You Call My Name”. He continued to climb in success in the 90s, performing duets and working with producers such as Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, Prince Buster, Bunny Lee, Lee Perry, and Sonia Pottinger. He emigrated to England in 1971 and toured there extensively, and eventually moved to Canada in 1973, settling in Toronto, Ontario. He would go on to open the first Caribbean shop in Kensington Market, a record store. It was in Canada where Cole released his first album Forward in the Land of Sunshine in 1976. He would continue to release a handful of albums over the years, mostly on his own label. He released his first album in twenty years in 2006, titled Morning Train. He is featured in the 2009 documentary Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, where he and other musicians from the “rocksteady” era reunited to form an album under the same name. The album included appearances from Marcia Griffiths, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles among others, and was released in 2009.