Page 38 - Reggae Festival Guide Magazine 2019

Photo by © Lee Abel Photography

sessions for his solo album Natty Dread. The rest, While the death of Bob Marley marked a turning
as they say, is history. From 1974 until his death point for Jamaican music, reggae and the careers

in 1981, Bob Marley always carried the I Threes of those close to him, Griffiths still found success

as his backup singers, lending what would and prominence one more time in her career,

become a signature harmonic response to the again through a fortuitous sequence of events.

Reggae King’s call. While Griffiths had recorded with Bob Marley at

While this arrangement allowed Griffiths the Studio One, she had known Neville Livingston

comfort of regular singing work, in some ways (Bunny Wailer) from earlier school days. After a

it eclipsed her identity and stature as a solo gig in Toronto in 1982, she was shopping and

artist. Her most notable solo albums of the saw a computer keyboard, which she describes
as a “rhythm box” because of its beat-making
era were recorded for Sonia Pottinger and capability. She recalled for Angus Taylor how

anchored by a cover of “My Dream Island” a.k.a. she brought it back to Jamaica and showed it

“Dreamland,” first covered in Jamaica by Bunny to Bunny Wailer. “I showed him the rhythm box

Wailer (and misappropriated as his own work). and the different sounds, and he just fell in

The other major success of Griffiths’ time with love with [it]. He recorded the repeater sound,

Sonia Pottinger was “Stepping Out of Babylon,” the piano ‘Dinganinganinganing!’ He took it to

her most notable original composition. She Portland (Eastern Jamaica) [and] came back the

performed the song live before Bob Marley following day with the song! Everything was so
would take the stage at his latter-day concerts. spontaneous. We didn’t sit on it. When we went

38 Reggae Festival guide 2019