Marcia Griffiths—
KINGSTON, Jamaica —

Marcia Griffiths, one of reggae’s enduring talents, has been awarded the Order of Jamaica, the country’s fourth highest honor.

The announcement of Griffiths’ latest accolade came Tuesday when the government announced its annual National Honors and Awards list.

The award ceremony takes place on October 20 at King’s House.

Griffiths is celebrating her 50th anniversary in the music business, an accomplishment recognised this year by organisers of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival and organisations like the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.

Griffiths was previously awarded the Order of Distinction, Jamaica’s fifth highest honour.

Her recording career began at Studio One in the rocksteady era. There, she cut a number of dance hits including Feel Like Jumping, Melody Life and Really Together (with Bob Andy).

A highlight of Griffiths’ career came in the 1970s when she toured and recorded as a member of the I Three, Bob Marley’s harmony group.

Even then, her solo career thrived with a number of classic sides like Stepping Outa Babylon and Dreamland.

Griffiths had a massive hit during the 1980s with the Bunny Wailer-written Electric Boogie. A decade later, she was part of the thriving Penthouse Records, led by producer Donovan Germain.

Trumpeter Bobby Ellis, bass player Phil Chen, influential dub poet Linton ‘Kwesi’ Johnson, Carl Brady (a founding member of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires), and Winston ‘Wee Pow’ Powell, founder of the Stone Love sound system, will receive the Order of Distinction for their contribution to Jamaican music.

Sculptor Laura Facey and theatre veteran Douglas Bennett, have also been awarded ODs.

A past student of the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Ellis played on, and arranged, some seminal reggae songs including Bob Andy’s I Wanna go Back Home and Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear.

He also played on Griffith’s Feel like Jumping and Melody Life.

Chen, like Brady, is a graduate of St George’s College. His career began as a guitarist with The Vagabonds, but he switched to bass after moving to the United Kingdom in the late 1960s.

Chen has played with some of the biggest names in pop music such as influential guitarist Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart and The Doors.

By Howard Campbell—