Red Rose for Gregory delivered on Mother’s Day

From Deniece Williams’ awesome vocals and authentic “Pull Uuuuppppp!” to JC Lodge’s slick on-stage, wardrobe changes, getting skimpier with each disrobing, to The Manhattans’ dazzling, well-choreographed moves, Red Rose for Gregory delivered in fine style.

Headliners Deniece Williams and The Manhattans, led by Gerald Alston; ably supported by singers JC Lodge, Etana, Errol Dunkley, Hezron, bands of brilliant musicians, and talented dancers, purposefully rocked Kingston, Jamaica, the UNESCO-designated creative centre of music at last Sundays uber successful Mother’s Day concert, at Hope Gardens.

Making its return to the calendar for the first time since 2020, and moving from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, Red Rose for Gregory enjoyed the full support of fans who ensured that it was a sold-out event. And, for their loyalty, they were rewarded. Seven hours and numerous band changes may have been a tad bit tiresome, but most of the audience was too caught up in the moment to notice.

Penultimate act for the evening, Deniece Williams, backed by Fab Five and her own musical director, Jonathan Jackson, who plays the keyboards, took to the stage at 9:59 p.m., belting out one of her signature songs, God is Truly Amazing, giving credence to the song’s title with every note that her much-vaunted four-octave voice could transport. Truly, only an amazing God could have bestowed her with such an amazing voice.

Williams, the doo wop minstrel, is definitely a whole mood and then some. Once you got a little less in awe of the fact that “A dis yah ooman yah can sing!” as Milton ‘One Can’ Wray so eloquently vocalised, it was impossible not to be charmed by her personality. In between delivering her mega hits such as It’s Gonna Take a Miracle, Black Butterfly, her Billboard Hot 100 No.1 single, Let’s Hear It for the Boys and Silly, the multi Grammy Award winner entertained with real-life stories and even had Jamaican dancers on stage for some songs.

Unforgettable was the one about sensimilia. Apparently, while on one of her visits to Jamaica, she and her manager were approached by a man who kept calling out “Sensimilia” and they kept telling him that they didn’t know anyone by that name. It turned out that when they met up back with the band members and told them that a guy outside was asking for sensimilia and they didn’t know who that was,”my whole band cleared out and went looking for sensimilia”. She prefaced her story with the question, “Do you smell what I smell?”

Williams paid tribute to “the love of [her] life, Don Taylor”; Jamaican musical genius and architect of the Philadelphia sound Thom Bell; and George Duke, keyboard player and arranger. She shared the back story for the song that would become a blockbuster hit, Silly. It was written after the revelation about a guy she was dating. She thought he was a king but he turned out to be a court jester. “I went into the studio with Thom Bell and found out that I was not the only one feeling silly and foolish in love.”

She closed her set with a tribute to Gregory Isaacs, Cool Down the Pace. “In honour of Mr Gregory Isaacs I’m gonna try and sing one of his songs,” Williams said, and two lines in, the band had to wheel and come again as, in true “dancehall stylee” she demanded “Pull Uuuuppppp!”

Curtain closer

Sunday’s performance was billed as the curtain closer on Deniece Williams’ more than five-decade career, and the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) had unanimously approved a resolution to confer the Key to the City of Kingston on Williams “in recognition of her sterling, awesome, and iconic career in music over these many years, which have positively influenced adoring fans across the world including Jamaicans who continue to enjoy her enduring legacy”.

Tears flowed and she lost an eyelash, and made light of it, as she accepted the unexpected honour from the KSAMC officials. And, as a special gift, perfume company Prince D’Bruce Perfumery created an eponymous perfume in her honour, while Queen of Reggae Marcia Griffiths, was asked by the Gregory Isaacs Foundation to make a presentation Williams. Griffiths publicly reiterated her own musical stance, which is “I shall sing as long as I live” and in an interview after the concert, Deniece Williams seemed to have had a change of heart.

“I told myself that 2023 would be my last year, but I think that if I’m still healthy and my voice is healthy that I’ll probably continue to sing because God gave me a tremendous voice and I don’t want to disappoint Him by not continuing,” Williams said.

Show-closers, The Manhattans, led by Gerald Alston, brought nostalgia, continuous feel-good moments, the fanciest dance moves ever and a trailer load of love songs that the women could not seem to get enough of. Sounding just as good as they did many years ago, the group, which is this year celebrating 61 years, thrilled with timeless tracks such as Tomorrow, I’ll Never Find Another, We Never Danced to a Love Song, It Feels So Good to Be Loved So Bad, No Me Without You, Shining Star, and Kiss and Say Goodbye.

At exactly 1 a.m., The Manhattans exited centre stage, having delighted with their closing song, a rendition of the Gregory Isaacs classic, Night Nurse.

Early performer, Mary Isaacs, looking resplendent in full red, and who was only allowed “two degge, degge song” also paid tribute to Gregory with her recently released cover of Tune In; Hezron used his time well and so too did Robert Minott and the man whose song “continue to make babies” Errol Dunkley.

Etana showed her strength and pulled songs from her early catalogue as well as her Grammy nominated albums, to entertain her fans and added another level of energy with a group of dancers. JC Lodge, who has not performed in Jamaica for a minute, showed that she is still an top-tier entertainer and she could not leave the stage without performing Someone Loves You Honey, and Telephone Love.

Part proceeds of the event are earmarked for charity, a promise that organiser, June Isaacs, Gregory’s widow, has kept since Red Rose for Gregory was first staged in 2017.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com