Mic Check With The legendary Leroy Sibbles OD & The Queen of Reggae Marcia Griffiths CD Getting Ready for legends Concert

MARCIA GRIFFITHS BIO

In a genre traditionally dominated by male artists, Reggae Queen, Marcia Griffiths OD, is arguably the most influential woman in the history of reggae.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Griffiths scored her first major hit with the 1967 single “Feel Like Jumping,” that charted in Jamaica and Great Britain. She also enjoy success with “Melody Life” and “Truly” before releasing her first album, Marcia Griffiths at Studio One. In 1969, she first teamed with Bob Andy. Their interpretation of Nina Simone’s “Young, Gifted and Black” became a major international hit in 1970. Bob and Marcia hit the charts again with “The Pied Piper,” but in 1974 the duo parted ways and Griffiths released her second solo album, Sweet Bitter Love.

In 1974, after Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston left the Wailers, Griffiths became a permanent member of the I-Threes alongside Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt. After making their debut with Marley on the groundbreaking Natty Dread album, they became an integral part of the Wailers until Marley’s death in 1981.

In 1982, Griffiths released “Electric Boogie,” which became a major hit in Jamaica. The song gained a second leash on life in 1989, when a DJ in Washington D.C. began spinning the record on a regular basis. Propelled by radio airplay as well as the growing popularity of a dance inspired by the song, the Electric Slide became a regular feature at weddings and family get-togethers in the United States. Through the ’90s and 2000’s, Griffiths has continued to record, releasing albums and singles including duets with Shaggy, Buju Banton, and Cutty Ranks.

Marcia continues to break new ground with her new album, titled Timeless, which boasts 15 carefully crafted songs that pay tribute to the endurance of Studio One label with Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae songs.

Marcia has had the incredibly good fortune of spending her formative years at Studio One, the record stable that shaped the career of other top-ranking artists such as Bob Marley and Bob Andy.

Marcia has also toured the world performing in Canada, Japan, Europe, Africa and various Caribbean Islands.  She has performed at numerous shows here in the USA including gigs at Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Gardens. So hail to the Queen of reggae, Marcia Llyneth Grifiths.

Leroy Sibbles Bio

Our special guest on Mic Check this morning is Leroy Heptones Sibbles OD.

As ska slowed to rock steady in the mid to late 1960s, Sibbles occupied a key position at the 13 Brentford Road studio of Sir “Coxson” Dodd.

With Sibbles as lead vocalist, the Heptones were among the most prolific and influential groups of the rock steady era. Signature Heptones songs included “Baby,” “Get In The Groove,” “Ting A Ling,” “Fattie Fattie,” “Got To Fight On (To The Top),” “Party Time,” and “Sweeting Talking.”

As a solo artist, Sibbles worked with Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes, Lloyd Parks, Sly & Robbie, Augustus Pablo, and Lee Perry, but primarily produced himself. He moved to Canada in 1973 and became a sizable pop reggae star as well.

After moving to Canada, he won a Juno award, recorded an album for A&M and cut several albums for Micron record label including Strictly Roots, a heavy drum & bass album backed by the Roots Radics.

Beyond his work as a singer/songwriter, Sibbles’ contribution as a bass player to the collective output and enduring legacy of Studio One is perhaps his greatest achievement. At Studio One, he arranged sessions, sang harmony, and played bass as a part of the studio crew known as the Soul Vendors. These musicians, with Sibbles at the helm, played rhythms behind vocalists Bob Andy, Alton Ellis,  Ken Boothe, John Holt, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown, Slim Smith, and scores of others. Sibbles was a key contributor to tracks like “Freedom Blues,” “Love Me Forever”  “Satta Amassaganna” “Declaration of Rights”   “Queen of the Minstrel”  “Ten To One”   “Door Peep” and “Full Up.”the

In recent years Sibbles has been working on new material at his studio in Kingston. He’s also producing other popular artists.  Earlier this year, he recorded a track with his long time studio one friend Marcia Griffiths that is doing well on the charts.