It was on the February 6 birthday of reggae greats such as Derrick Harriot and Bob Marley that the life of a musical genius was snuffed out. Seminal music producer and engineer Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock was shot and killed on that day in...
In the roaring 70s Red Hills Road in St Andrew played host to an endless number of night clubs and was the acknowledged hip strip for city Kingston. In fact, two of Jamaica’s musical legends trace their genesis to Red Hills Road and the clubs with...
On the weekend of November 20, Merritone Disco celebrated a milestone 70 years of great music, 30 years of Merritone Family Fun Day, and the birthday of a legend, Winston ‘Merritone’ Blake, who would have turned 80 on November 19. The event,...
The Jamaica National (JN) Group’s ‘Together We’re Strong’ concert, streamed live via their social media platforms on Sunday afternoon, was festive in every sense of the word. The love of family, heart-warming messages in song and dub poetry, steel...
In a pre-COVID-19 era, Digicel Rising Stars finalist Jodian Pantry would by now be putting the final touches to her annual New Year’s Day concert staged in Clarendon, ‘Gospel Tenacity’. The event won’t see the light of day on January 1, 2021, but...
Reggae icon Bob Marley has been honoured with his own, dedicated, radio station on SiriusXM. The new station, launched on December 3 on SiriusXM radios (channel 19) and on the SiriusXM app, is called Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Radio and it will play...
The numeral five is playing out its significance in the life of legendary reggae band Fab 5 this year, and, as some love to say, ‘numbers don’t lie’. Last November marked 50 years since the Frankie Campbell-led aggregation started its musical...
Pioneering reggae singer and musician Albert Griffiths of roots band The Gladiators has died, his former manager, Cabel ‘Jeffrey’ Stephenson, told The Gleaner. Griffiths, who had been ailing for some time, passed away on Wednesday morning at his...
A Jamaican Christmas is one like no other, especially when some of those uniquely Jamaican Christmas songs are factored into the equation. The essence of it will always surround the word ‘family’. And that ‘irie’, familial feeling is exactly what...
British Reggae singer Peter Hunnigale, known for his lovers’ rock songs, celebrates his birthday today, and it is quite possible that pizza and alcohol are part of the celebratory fare. Pizza and Alcohol is actually the title of his latest...
A discussion which was held earlier this year will fully manifest itself as the curtain closes on a tumultuous 2020 and dancehall megastar Sean Paul pulls out all the stops to thrill fans at a virtual gig for Miller Music Amplified. The performance...
A limited number of masked military men and women, dressed in their khaki uniforms and led by Lieutenant General Rocky Meade, chief of defence staff, along with other senior military members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), social-distanced...
The desire to end 2020 on a bold and optimistic note was one of the motivations for organisers to break the two-year hiatus and stage the MOBO Awards this year. The 90-minute virtual ceremony, which unfolds this evening at 7:00 GMT (2 p.m. in...
Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert was planning the mother of all birthday bashes this year, with a triple celebration in mind. “It would be his birthday, the release of his first album in 10 years, and a Grammy nomination. We were so sure of the...
Executive producer of Toronto’s JAMBANA One World Festival and a well-known figure in the music industry both in North America and Jamaica, Denise Jones, died Thursday night, Frankie Campbell, front man for the Fab 5 Band told The Gleaner. The...
When 44/876, the collaborative album from Shaggy and Sting, won the reggae Grammy in 2018, Shane Hoosong experienced, for the first time, the pleasure of adding three magic words to his name – ‘Grammy Award-winning’. For the young producer, it was...
A picture of Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang and reggae star Alborosie was released as the visual to officially launch a campaign to raise awareness against human trafficking. For Alborosie, this was the culmination of a discussion...
United Kingdom-based reggae and dancehall producer Fabrice ‘Frenchie’ Allegre has been in the game since 1993 and has quietly been churning out projects with many of the major names in the genres while earning their respect along the way. Frenchie...
Kevin Anthony Jackson, better known as Sanchez, turns 56 today, and unlike previous birthdays, the highlight of the reggae artiste’s day will be the cutting of a cake with his wife and children. “I have lived to see 56 birthdays and have had lots...
Brazilian fans, led by disc jockey DJ Waldiney, as well as Jamaican entertainers Little Lenny and Richie Stephens, have made good on their promise to assist veteran singer Yvonne Sterling, who is facing multiple challenges. On Wednesday, Sterling’s...
The MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards “are back with a vengeance”. That was the word from founder and CEO of the MOBO organisation, Kanya King, on social media on Tuesday, the day of the official announcement of the 2020 nominees. Branded as the...
Reggae singer Maxi Priest was in-studio editing on Tuesday when his phone started blowing up with congratulatory messages. At first, he wondered what on earth was going on. A subsequent call from his manager, Toby Ludwig, confirmed the good news....
In May of this year, OMI’s Cheerleader quietly clocked the one billion mark on YouTube, a great feat by any standard. Then in November, when song recognition app, Shazam, released its ‘Top 100 Most Shazamed Songs of All-time’ list, there was...
The importance of backup singers cannot be denied. One school of thought is that it is the backup singers who make a song sing. Often overlooked, they provide harmonies and vocals that complement the melody line performed by a lead singer, and are...
Back in January, weeks before the world as we knew it changed forever, Grammy award-winning United States singer John Legend released a ballad, another of those unconditional love ditties, which, on reflection, he must have been guided by a special...
