Reggae queen to celebrate 60th anniversary in music
While teasing patrons that her guests at the ‘Marcia Griffiths & Friends’ show will not need visas to enter Jamaica, the veteran singer declined to give details of that event which is scheduled for Palm Drive, Hope Gardens, in St Andrew.
The show’s official launch took place on September 25 at J Wray & Nephew’s offices in New Kingston, attracting a number of music industry officials and corporate personalities.
She, however, said: “[Y]ou just never know who you’ll see, outside of who will be advertised, the climax and the surprises will be of artistes that no one will ever imagine to appear,” Griffiths said at the media launch.
Griffiths said among her “Friends” — who will celebrate her 60th anniversary in the music business — will be an introduction to new fans.
“It wouldn’t be complete if I am not reaching out to this generation. Music lives on forever and it wouldn’t be real if I’m just reaching out to my generation, the young people are who I want to attract,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
The Hope Gardens showcase will be similar to Griffiths’ show that took place in Miramar, South Florida, last May. That show featured multiple guests and gave fans a comprehensive look at her career, which started in 1964, performing with acts such as Byron Lee and The Dragonaires and recording songs for producer Clement Dodd.
In an interview with the Observer earlier this year, Griffiths revealed that R&B icon Patti LaBelle will be joining her at the concert. Other major international acts are expected to be in attendance.
“The greatest part of this concert is the surprises that we have in store, that we cannot mention yet. I am overwhelmed with gratitude,” she added at Wednesday’s launch.
Tony Gregory, who sang several duets with Griffiths in the 1960s, attended Wednesday’s launch and will be one of the Friends.
While she endeared herself to dancehall fans during the 1990s with songs like Land of Love and I Shall Sing, Griffiths credits a trendy dance song from a decade earlier for giving her a diverse following.
Written and produced by Bunny Wailer, Electric Boogie is Griffiths’ biggest commercial hit. Initially released in 1982, a remixed version peaked at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart eight years later.
The Jamaican leg of the concert will also act as a pre-birthday celebration for Griffiths who will celebrate 75 years on November 23.
From West Kingston, her career took off in the 1960s with rock steady hits including
Feel Like Jumping, Mark My Words and Really Together. The latter was done with Bob Andy, with whom Griffiths had a big hit in 1970 with a cover of Nina Simone’s
Young, Gifted and Black.
For most of the 1970s, she toured the world as a member of the I-Three, Bob Marley’s harmony group which also included his wife Rita and Judy Mowatt. During that period Griffiths scored a number of hit songs, among them Dreamland and Steppin’ Outa Babylon.
Some of the popular people at the Marcia Griffiths & Friends launch were Tommy Cowan and Carlene Davis, Lloyd Parks, Jackie Jackson, Alan “Skill” Cole, Sharon Burke, Fred Locks, Blacka Dread, and Bridgett Anderson.
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