Birthday boy Derrick Harriott strolls down memory lane
Published:Thursday | February 6, 2020 | 12:00 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Most persons with a February 6 birthday are said to be born on the ‘earthstrong’ of reggae legend, Robert Nesta Marley. Derrick Harriott, however, has a slightly different take. “Bob Marley was born on my birthday,” he states very matter-of-factly. The singer and producer, who now spends his time between Jamaica and the United States, told The Gleaner that he has no special plans for this birthday, but he was quite willing to take a trip down memory lane.
“There’s so much to say,” admitted the reggae artiste who has worked with many of the top names in the music business, whether as a singer, producer or promoter. “I started my promotions in 1970 and I even put on concerts with my birthday friend,” he said of Marley.
He continued: “I teamed up with a sound called El Suzie A Go Go, and we had them [Bob Marley and the Wailers] at the VIP Club on Constant Spring Road. It was so successful that we had to put on another show. The group was just starting to get really popular and everybody wanted to see them. It was also the first time dem was smelling that certain aroma at that place,” the man nicknamed Chariot chuckled.
He also mentioned that Marley had asked him to promote a song for him. “It was a record with a song titled Nice Time on the A side, and then on the flip side was Hypocrites. I had my record store from then and he said, ‘Chariot, promote this fi mi nuh’. And I did, and the B side ( Hypocrites) became as popular as the A side,” he said.
Derrick Harriott also had fond memories of another artiste born in his month, the Crown Prince of Reggae Dennis Emmanuel Brown. He was the very first person to produce a song with D. Brown, and, of this, he is quite proud. “Dennis called the song Obsession, but after listening to it, I realised that I had to change the name. So I called it Lips of Wine, because in the song he said he wanted to ‘taste her lips of wine’. It wasn’t a big song, but it put his name out there, and after that I produced the Silhouette album.” This seminal work spawned a few hits, including the title track, and Wichita Lineman, which critics say is the best song Dennis Brown ever recorded.
Other artistes with whom Derrick Harriott has worked include Big Youth, U Roy, Joy White (the mother of DJ Naz and dancer, Mystic), The Chosen Few, Scotty, The Kingstonians, and Keith and Tex. Having travelled extensively, Derrick Harriott has now decided to slow down. His last tours have been to Mexico and Argentina, where he performed alongside a band from that country, the members of which grew up on his music.
“The band is called The Aggravators and they know my songs. Language doesn’t matter to them. They could sing the songs and provide the background vocals. We here in Jamaica really need to learn even one more language,” he said.
As to his age, he wouldn’t reveal it. “Let them guess,” he said playfully.