‘Tune In’ to Mary Isaacs’ tribute to Gregory Isaacs

Is Mary Isaacs related to Gregory Isaacs?

“That’s the question that everybody asks,” Mary Isaacs said with a smile when asked. “I don’t know if we are related. I only met Gregory once, and unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to sit and talk about the family roots and trace it.”

Mary, whose career was actually launched in New York City where she was the lead female vocalist of People’s Heritage Band, recalled the meeting with the late Gregory at The Jamaica Pegasus many years ago quite clearly. Both she and reggae’s beloved ‘Cool Ruler’ were billed for a show at the hotel and they had met backstage.

“It was a cordial meeting. I told Gregory that ‘One of these days we are going to do an album together ... Two Isaacs Meet.’ And he laughed,” Mary shared.

While that project never got off the ground, Mary Isaacs has still found a way to connect with her namesake in an enduring way. She recently covered one of the Cool Ruler’s classics, a song titled Tune In, and she is totally excited.

“My producer [Jah Lloyd of Issachar Muzik] suggested a few months ago that I should do a Gregory Isaacs song ... and he sent me a couple of them to choose one,” she said by way of explanation.

Tune In resonated with Mary.

“I like the beat and the lyrics ... and it’s interesting to turn it around. It’s not often that a woman asks a man to meet her on the corner. The shoe is on the other foot,” a tickled Mary said.

In the song, which was originally released in 1979 on his own African Museum label, Gregory sings, “ Meet me at the corner down your avenue. And I’ll be patiently, yeah, waiting there for you. I said to, tune in ‘til a morning ...”

Mary is quite upbeat about the response to her tribute to Gregory, who passed away on October 25, 2010, and she even shared that his widow, June, has fully endorsed it.

“June and I are friends, and I told her that I was going to do a cover of Tune In. When the song was ready I sent it to her, and she uploaded it on her Facebook page, and I shared it from there. It was released last Friday through the Issachar Muzik label and distributed by Tuff Gong International. Carl Moxy from New York played it, Di General from Australia has played it ... I have been getting good response from disc jocks across the world,” Mary said.

This is her second track working with executive producer Jah Lloyd of Issachar Muzik, who saw Mary perform and contacted her to do their first collaboration, I’m Happy, in 2022, with contributions from veteran songwriter and producer Sangie Davis. Mary, whose first album, titled Then & Now, was released mid-2015 (produced by Aqua-Gem Records) and has worked with a number of great producers including Willie Lindo, Sly and Robbie, Boris Gardiner, and Stephen Stewart.

However, it appears that she has been more active in the mission of the preservation of reggae music than in releasing new music and has served organisations such as the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates and the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association at the highest levels. But that perception is about to change.

“I’m back into production. I’m going in the studio with Sangie in the next two weeks. We’ve already done I’m Happy, and we are going to do some more songs for an EP,” Mary said.

She is also rubbing her palms together in glee at the thought of singing Tune In live in front of an audience. Quite appropriately, her cover will have its first public outing at Red Rose for Gregory, the annual tribute show for the reggae singer.

The concert is organised by Gregory’s widow and will take place on Mother’s Day, May 14, at Hope Gardens, and features The Manhattans, Deniece Williams, JC Lodge, Etana, Errol Dunkley, Hezron, Robert Minott, Mary Isaacs, Ray Isaacs, and Khausion.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com