It was a virtual lovefest on Tuesday evening when the Kiwanis Club of Eastern St Andrew entertained royalty as they honoured reggae queens, Marcia Llyneth Griffiths and Judith Veronica ‘Judy’ Mowatt, to celebrate Reggae Month. Much was made of the unique date – 22. 02. 2022 – recognised as a palindrome and an ambigram.
Hosted by the effervescent journalist and lawyer, Khadine ‘Miss Kitty’ Hylton, the evening’s salute was well attended on the Zoom platform by visiting Kiwanians far and wide. Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange joined the meeting to make the official presentation of the awards and give her personal salute.
Grange shared that both she and Marcia Griffiths hail from West Kingston, that hotbed of musical creativity.
“Jamaica is blessed to have these three ladies – Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths – as role models. I know Marcia from West Kingston. Mr Seaga would lift up little Marcia and put her on the flatbed truck to perform. Out of the bowels of West Kingston, we have produced a beautiful queen with a beautiful voice,” Grange said in tribute.
The minister spoke of her interactions with Judy Mowatt through the latter’s iconic 1979 Black Woman album, regarded as the greatest reggae album by a female artiste.
“When I was in Canada, I got an album titled Black Woman, and we spoke to Shanachie (a New Jersey-based record label), and that’s how Shanachie called Judy to distribute the album. I don’t know if you know this, Judy, because I have never told you. This honour by the Kiwanis Club of Eastern St Andrew is truly well deserved. I am sorry that we can’t raise our glasses and hug each other,” Grange said.
Hylton, who noted that she was taught to respect her elders, referred to the honourees as ‘Auntie Judy’ and ‘Auntie Marcia’ as she had them traverse memory lane, asking questions that evoked recollections of a past which undoubtedly honed the present.
Interestingly, both singers seemed destined for the medical field. Mowatt wanted to be a nurse, and Griffiths’ father thought music was “degrading” and wanted his daughter to become a doctor. Griffiths and Mowatt acknowledged, however, that they were still in the business of healing, as this is exactly what they do through music. They spoke of the I-Three days working with Bob Marley and declared that their union was divinely inspired.
“It is not easy to find three people whose voices blend easily. The day we got together is the day we knew we should be together,” Griffiths shared, adding that the early days at Studio One was a family vibe.
“One Bruce’s patty and a coco bread for lunch, and we were happy. Bob, Peter and Bunny were three militant brothers, and the music was much deeper than entertainment. We have a responsibility to educate and uplift. I recognise that this is our strongest weapon to unite the world. Being with Bob opened my eyes,” Griffiths, who will celebrate 58 years in the music business on Easter Monday, declared passionately.
Hylton also brought on surprise guests, Donovan Germain, Yvonne Hope and Bridget Anderson, friends of the awardees and who spoke glowingly of them.
Marcia Griffiths was painted as the live-wire who is loving, kind, straight-to-the-point, and even “feisty”, and she was also praised for her cooking skills. “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Marcia said, ‘You have to come to my house’,” Yvonne Hope recalled. And Germain said, “Angelic voice that sounds the same way from the ‘60s ‘til now. And she looks the same. Marcia is family, and if ah don’t call her for a few days and she is cussing me, I just seh, ‘Look here, mi love yuh.”
Anderson hailed Mowatt for taking a chance on her when she had zero experience.
“In 1991, Sis Judy took me on her world tour with Sly and Robbie when I knew absolutely nothing about the music business,” shared Anderson, who is now a sought-after artiste manager and PR specialist with her own décor company.
“Listening to the love flowing from each Kiwanis chapter and from Miss Kitty, Minister Grange, and the surprise guests is heartwarming,” said an overwhelmed Mowatt.
Delighted, the reggae queens had a simple message, which Griffiths said her father would often say: “’ Give me my flowers now because I can’t ready my tombstone’. Thank God for preserving [us] and the fans for their support. It is thoughtful and wonderful of the Kiwanians to do this. Let’s keep the fire burning.”
Distinguished president, Kiwanian Velmour Lawrence, gave the heartfelt vote of thanks.
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