Dig Deeper Presents: Derrick Morgan

Dig Deeper is honored to present Derrick Morgan, one of the legends of Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae in a very rare NYC live performance, backed by Crazy Baldhead.

Almost by definition, any biography of Derrick Morgan we could possibly write would be incomplete – so broad and deep has been his contribution to the canon of Jamaican music as one of the country’s foundation artists. Perhaps a few highlights:

Derrick Morgan first started singing in the 1950s in the church where his father was deacon and his mother was in the choir.

His first public foray into secular music was competing in Joseph Vere’s “Opportunity Hour” in 1957, where he performed two Little Richard tunes – and allegedly beat out competitors Monty Morris, Hortense Ellis, Owen Gray, and Jackie Edwards (all legends today, themselves).

Derrick’s earliest recordings were with Duke Reid, Simeon Smith (whose recording of “Fat Man” became one of the very first releases of the fledgling “Blue Beat” label in the UK), and Prince Buster – and in these early days in the 1960s, he was quick to reach hitmaker status where at one time he held down all 7 of the top slots of the Jamaican music charts.

In 1962, Derrick moved to Leslie Kong’s Beverley’s Records, which set off a rapid fire singles war with former producer Prince Buster – Derrick’s entries were classics like “Forward March” (for Jamaica’s independence) and “Blazing fire”. Eventually, the government had to intervene and staged a photo to show they’d made up.

It was around this time that Derrick recorded several duets with Patsy Todd, including the classic “Housewives Choice” – renamed from the original “You don’t know how much I love you” when it became so heavily requested on the radio.

Derrick went on to record through the rocksteady era (including hits like “Rudie in court (tougher than tough)”, and a beautiful take on the Impressions’ “It’s alright” for Coxsone Dodd), and recorded even more heavily in the early reggae era, including countless hits like a take on Ben E. King’s “Seven Letters” and “Moon hop”.

It has been far too long since Derrick Morgan last performed in NYC – we are honored to have the opportunity to make this show happen. May 9 cannot arrive soon enough.

Guest DJ Scratch Famous of Deadly Dragon Sound System joins residents DJ Honky and Mr. Robinson, spinning all original rocksteady, reggae, ska, and soul 45s. Wear your dancing shoes – you will need them.