I thought that was weird so I looked it up and that’s because he was advertized as “ambiguously black”
apparently TK records was worried the song wouldn’t get support from the black communities and he said [ “I guess they got skittish with going to black radio with somebody who was whiter than a loaf of bread.” ]
He did claim he never thought he sounded “black” quoting from the source below [ “Quite honestly, I never thought I sounded black,” says Caldwell. “I thought I sounded like a white guy that was influenced by R&B music. But people would swear up and down I was black. Huge amounts of money were lost in bets.” While the myth carries on today, the truth of how it all got started is a story rooted in the politics of ’70s American radio and the shrewd business practices of a record boss. ]
but the fans found out eventually and still accepted him anyway(which made the whole “blackface” idea by TK records out of fear really stupid) and the song became a hit.
He apparently was friends with bob marley back in the days who introduced him to many music similar to the genre so that might explain a bit?
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