Derrick Morgan (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)
A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence
", ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor is ...

'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...

musical artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

, and

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, th ...

in the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

genres, and he also performed

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

and

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in t ...

reggae.

Biography

In 1957, Morgan entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, a talent show held at the Palace Theatre in Kingston. He won with rousing impressions of

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

and, shortly after that, was recruited to perform around the island with the popular Jamaican comedy team Bim and Bam. In 1959, Morgan entered the recording studio for the first time.

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troj ...

, the sound system boss, was looking for talent to record for his Treasure Isle record label. Morgan cut two popular

shuffle Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Overh ...

boogie Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...

sides "Lover Boy", a.k.a. "S-Corner Rock", and "Oh My". Soon after, Morgan cut the

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

-tinged boogie "Fat Man", which also became a hit. He also found time to record for

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent a ...

. In 1960 Morgan became the only artist ever to fill the places from one to seven on the Jamaican pop

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

simultaneously. Among those hits were "Don't Call Me Daddy", "In My Heart", "Be Still", and "Meekly Wait and Murmur Not". But it was the following year that Morgan released the biggest hit of his career, the

Leslie Kong Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer. Career Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Str ...

production of "Don't You Know", later retitled "Housewives' Choice" by a local DJ. The song featured a bouncing ska

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use th ...

, along with a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo s ...

by Morgan and Millicent "Patsy" Todd. "Housewives' Choice" began the rivalry between Morgan and

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

, who accused Morgan of stealing his ideas. Buster quickly released "Blackhead Chiney Man", chiding Morgan with the sarcastic put-down, "I did not know your parents were from Hong Kong" – a swipe at Kong. Morgan returned with the classic "Blazing Fire", in which he warns Buster to "Live and let others live, and your days will be much longer. You said it. Now it's the Blazing Fire". Buster shot back with, "Watch It Blackhead", which Morgan countered with "No Raise No Praise" and "Still Insist". Followers of the two artists often clashed, and eventually the government had to step in with a staged photo shoot depicting the rivals as friends. Morgan had a major success in 1962 with "Forward March", a song celebrating Jamaican independence from Great Britain. In the mid-1960s, when ska evolved into

, Morgan continued to release top quality material, including the seminal

rude boy Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...

songs, "Tougher Than Tough", "Do the Beng Beng", "Conquering Ruler", and a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

's soul hit, "Seven Letters". Produced by

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records ...

, "Seven Letters" is often cited as the first true reggae single. In 1969 Morgan recorded the skinhead anthem "Moon Hop" (on

Crab Records Crab Records was a reggae label that issued releases from 1968 to 1971. Crab was a subsidiary of Pama Records, who along with Trojan Records, was one of the major labels for reggae music in the UK. Derrick Morgan was the main artist featured on th ...

). However, failing eyesight then forced him to give up regular stage appearances. Morgan still performs occasionally at ska revival shows across the world – often backed by the guitarist

Lynn Taitt Lynn Taitt (22 June 1934 – 20 January 2010) was a guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music. Biography Born Nerlynn Taitt, in San Fernando, Trinidad, he got his s ...

. He remained popular in Jamaica and the UK into the early 1970s, and has lived primarily in the UK or the US since the late 1960s. With reggae music's significant popularity of reggae in the UK in the late 1960s and early 1970s, British reggae label

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...

created a subsidiary, Song Bird, to issue Morgan's productions. The label issued 75 singles between 1969 and 1973. Morgan has written several songs that have won the Festival Song Contest for other artists, including "Jamaica Whoa" (1998, Neville Martin), "Fi Wi Island A Boom" (2000,

Stanley Beckford Stanley Beckford (1942–2007) was a Jamaican born Mento singer, songwriter, and four time Jamaica Independence Festival song contest winner who recorded as a solo artist and with the bands The Starlights/Starlites, Stanley and the Turbines, ...

), and "Progress" (2002, Devon Black). In July 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a two-night "Legends of Ska" concert was held. Reuniting were

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many oth ...

, Lloyd Knibb, Rico Rodriguez,

Lloyd Brevett Lloyd Brevett OD (1 August 1931 – 3 May 2012) was a Jamaican double bassist, songwriter, and a founding member of The Skatalites. He was a Rastafarian, and the uncle of The Melodians member, Tony Brevett.Lester Sterling Lester Sterling OD (born 31 January 1936),Musicians Bio
", Alpha Old Boys Association, retrie ...

, Johnny Moore and

; along with

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

Owen Gray Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey (born 5 July 1939),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been ...

, Lord Creator,

Justin Hinds Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes. He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded ...

Derrick Harriott Derrick Clifton Harriott OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, ...

, Winston Samuels, Roy Wilson, Patsy Todd, Doreen Shaffer,

Stranger Cole Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska ...

Lord Tanamo Joseph Abraham Gordon (2 October 1934 – 15 April 2016), better known as Lord Tanamo, was a Jamaican-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his mento and ska work. Career Born in Kingston and raised in Denham Town in the West of ...

, and Derrick Morgan. In 2007, Morgan appeared on the bill at the annual Augustibuller music festival. His song "Tougher Than Tough" was featured in the video game '' Scarface: The World is Yours''. Morgan retired from the music industry because of illness in the 2010s, but returned in 2016 to collaborate with

Kirk Diamond Kirk Douglas (born 24 June 1984), better known by his stage name Kirk Diamond is a Jamaican-Canadian Reggae and Dancehall singer-songwriter, producer and entrepreneur based in Brampton, Ontario. Early life Diamond was born Kirk Douglas in Span ...

on a remake of Morgan's song 1960s "Conqueror". Morgan headlined the Supernova International Ska Festival, in Fredericksburg, Virginia from May 27 to 28, 2017.

Discography

Albums

*''Seven Letters'' (1969) *''Derrick Morgan in London'' (1969) *''Moon Hop'' (1970) *''Feel So Good'' (1975) (featuring

Hortense Ellis Hortense Ellis (18 April 1941 – 19 October 2000) was a reggae musician, and the younger sister of fellow artist Alton Ellis.Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...

*''Tougher Than Tough (Rudie in Court)'' (1992) *''The Conquering Ruler'' (and the Sensational Yebo) (1994) – Pork Pie Records *''Ska Man Classics'' (1995) *''Ska Man Classics'' (1997) *''21 Hits Salute'' (1997) *''Meets the High Notes Live'' (2003) *''Moon Hop: Best of the Early Years 1960–69'' (2003) *''Derrick:Top the Top'' (2003) *''Derrick Meets the High Notes'' (2004) *''Shake A Leg'' (2014) *''Storybook Revisted'' (2019)

Singles

Morgan released nearly 200 singles in the UK, and more than 250 in Jamaica. These include: *"The Hop" / "Tell It To Me", 7-inch: Island WI 006, UK, 1962 *"Forward March" / "Please Don't Talk About Me", 7-inch: Island WI 011, UK, 1962 *"See The Blind" / "Cherry Home", 7-inch: Island WI 013, UK, 1962 *"I Am The Ruler" / "I Mean It" Pyramid 1968 *"No Dice" / "I Mean It" Pyramid 1968 *"Fat Man" / "South Parkway Rock" Trojan TR 626 UK, 1968 Singles on

*"Moon Hop" – 1969 – UK No. 49* "River to the Bank" / "Reggae Limbo", 7-inch (B side – Peter King) * "Seven Letters" / "Lonely Heartaches", 7-inch (B side – The Tartons) * "The First Taste of Love" / "Dance All Night", 7-inch * "Don't Play That Song" / "How Can I Forget You", 7-inch * "Mek It Tan Deh" / "Gimme Back", 7-inch * "Send Me Some Loving" / "Come What May", 7-inch * "Hard Time" / "Death Rides A Horse", 7-inch (B Side – Roy Richards) * "Man Pon Moon" / "What A Thing", 7-inch * "Moon Hop" / "Harris Wheel", 7-inch (B Side – Reggaeites) * "A Night at the Hop" / "Telephone", 7-inch * "Oh Baby" / The Rat", 7-inch (B Side – The Thunderbirds) * "Need To Belong" / "Let's Have Some Fun", 7-inch (with Jennifer Jones) * "I Wish I Was An Apple" / "The Story", 7-inch * "Take A Letter Maria" / "Just A Little Loving", 7-inch (with Owen Gray) * "Rocking Good Way" / "Wipe These Tears", 7-inch (with Jennifer Jones) * "My Dickie" / "Brixton Hop", 7-inch * "I Can't Stand It No Longer" / "Beyond The Wall", 7-inch * "Endlessly" / "Who's Making Love", 7-inch * "Hurt Me" / "Julia", 7-inch * "Searching So Long" / "Drums of Passion", 7-inch

References

External links