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‘Chiquitita’ singer Clive ‘Snowball’ Brown laid to rest - Entertainer passed away October 9
December 02, 2025
The year was 1994, and a singer named Clive 'Snowball' Brown added lots of flavour to the Festival Song Competition with an entry titled ' Chiquitita'.
Snowball's high- pitched vocal trill during the chorus was a winner, and everyone, whether you loved him or not, knew the line, " Oh Chiquitita!" Going through the competition as a favourite, at the finals, Snowball's Chiquitita placed second to Dem a Pollute by Stanley & The Astronauts.
Snowball, who had a tumultuous 30-year journey since then, passed away on October 9, his older sister, Rosene Greenwood, said. He was 71. A thanksgiving service was held on November 22 at the Temple of Restoration on Lismore Avenue, in Kingston.
"He wasn't in the hospital or anything like that. The autopsy report said that it was hypertension and heart failure," Greenwood said.
Throughout the competition, both Snowball and the song were memorable, and although he remained in demand right after, his career didn't transcend to the next level, and he did not release much new music. The singer, who continued to write songs, subsequently fell on hard times, with his journey also including substance abuse.
"He took it hard that he didn't win because his song was the most popular. And what made it even harder is that he didn't receive any royalties from any of his music. At one stage, he was very withdrawn from his family. And it's no secret that he became addicted to substances. It was a weakness, and after a while, it was his downfall. We tried ... we all tried to get him to come home, but he wanted to remain in Kingston and pursue his music career," Greenwood said.
She described Snowball, who adopted his mother's maiden name as his stage name, as "a proud little fellow" who was the favourite child in the family while growing up.
"We called him Chico. He was so pleasant and chubby ... everybody wanted to be around him. We lost our mother early, but my father did everything he could for us," said Greenwood.
She recalled that during his periods of distress, persons would often ask about the whereabouts of his family, and she reiterated that "it was not for want of trying to help him".
"If they come to us and ask, we can tell them. He has his room at home in Montego Bay. But the drugs thing, it's like a scourge ... the cognition goes and you can no longer make rational decision," she lamented.
Two Saturdays ago, Snowball's family, friends, and well-wishers gathered to pay their last respects to the singer. Greenwood is satisfied that the family gave Snowball a fitting send-off.
"Mama would get up out of her grave if it was any other way. Regardless of what may have happened, there was nothing to do except our best. And he has a legacy. Chiquitita will long be remembered. If you were to ask anybody what was the winning Festival Song for 1994, they can't tell you, but they will remember Chiquitita. We will sit here and we will miss him, of course ... but when people are adults, you can't tell them what to do," Greenwood said.
Snowball, Greenwood said, had one daughter. Efforts from the family to reach her were reportedly unsuccessful.
Early this year, singer Mr Vegas had posted on social media that he "was so happy to bring a smile to Clive 'Snowball' Brown's face". In a video clip, Mr Vegas was seen running into Snowball and showing him respect, even going into his vehicle and taking out one of his own suits and giving it to him. A smiling Snowball was later seen, walking the artiste walk into the spotlight, dressed to the nines in the suit just gifted to him by Vegas.
"It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up," Vegas signed the post.
