Marvin Sease, 64, an R&B singer

VICKSBURG, Miss. - Marvin Sease, a blues and soul singer known for his 1980s hit "Candy Licker," has died after a lengthy illness. He was 64.

James Jefferson, owner of Jefferson Funeral Home here, said that Sease died Tuesday at the River Region Medical Center.

Sease was born in Blacksville, S.C.

Brett Bonner, editor of Living Blues Magazine, said Sease started in gospel music in South Carolina before moving to New York and eventually playing rhythm-and-blues.

Bonner said that after "Candy Licker" was released in the late 1980s, Sease became popular for his performances in the South. Bonner said many of Sease's songs were too dirty for airplay.

Sease had been living in Vicksburg.