IN the year of Jamaica’s Independence from Britain, Derrick Morgan rode a new rhythm called ska that had the country’s young people rocking.
Fifty-five years later, he is still playing to youthful audiences in Europe and North America.
“A pure pickney!” Morgan exclaimed in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer. “My audience is largely white and young; yuh have some elders but is mainly young people.”
Morgan, 77, was the elder statesman on the May 27-28 Supernova International Ska Festival in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The line-up was dominated by contemporary American bands who were strongly influenced by Morgan and other ska pioneers like Prince Buster.
The evergreen Morgan and Buster are two of ska’s heavyweights. Their ‘throw wud’ clash of the early 1960s helped put the genre on the map in countries like England where it maintains a loyal following.
His early hits earned Morgan — who has been blind since he was a boy — his first tour of Britain 1963. At the time, he was on a roll with songs like the Independence anthem, Forward March, produced by Leslie Kong. His partnership with Kong angered Buster, who Morgan had previously worked with, prompting Buster’s song Blackhead Chineyman.
Morgan says fans still want to hear his hits from the early 1960s such as Housewife’s Choice and Don’t Call Me Daddy. He does mainly festivals in Europe and the US West Coast.
Derrick Morgan will be on home turf come July 8 when he performs alongside The Manhattans, Ken Boothe, Dennis Alcapone, Gem Myers, and Lloyd Parks And We The People Band on Original Startime, a show at the National Arena in Kingston.
— Howard Campbell
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