• October 22, 1968
• Shaggy's real name is Orville Richard Burrill. He grew up in Jamaica and moved to Brooklyn, New York, to start his music career when he was 18.
• He served as a Marine in the Gulf War, using his downtime to write songs. Shaggy reached the rank of Lance Corporal, but was demoted for returning late to base after a weekend trip to his music studio.
• The name Shaggy came from his messy hairstyle, which he has since cleaned up.
• Shaggy's music is a blend of dancehall and reggae. He describes it as "dog-a-muffin."
• After breaking through with the UK #1 hit "Oh Carolina" in 1993, Shaggy had a global smash with "Boombastic" in 1995, but two years later, Virgin Records dropped him after his third album, Midnite Lover, tanked. MCA signed him and reaped the benefits when his 2000 album Hot Shot blasted to #1 in America and produced two chart-topping singles: "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me."
• He's made substantial donations to the money to the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, Jamaica, including a $25,000 gift in 2001.
• Shaggy wanted to be a fireman until he saw reggae star King Yellowman perform.
• He sold more albums in 2001 than Bob Marley did during his lifetime.
• In 1995, the little-known Backstreet Boys opened for Shaggy on the European leg of his tour. In 2001, Shaggy opened for the boy band on their Black & Blue tour.

Comments: 1

• Tom from Trowbridge, EnglandI thought he got the name from Scooby Doo.

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