He had his greatest success internationally in the 1970s, starting with the album "The Best Of", featuring live recordings in Brooklyn, New York of Sparrow favorites. In 1974, with Van Dyke Parks as producer, he recorded the album "Hot and Sweet" for Warner Bros. in Miami, and the following year reunited with Byron Lee for the "Sparrow Dragon Again" album. He had a big hit in 1977 with "Crawford", a tribute to sprinter Hasley Crawford, and that year embarked on a tour of West Africa, during which he was given the honorary Yoruba title Chief Omo Wale of Ikoyi. In 1978 he recorded the album "Only a Fool" in London for Trojan Records.