Derrick Harriott shaped and preserved our music – Grange

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange has said that, with the death of Derrick Clifton Harriott, Jamaica, sadly, has lost another of the icons who helped to shape the trajectory and reach of the country’s musical genres.

Derrick Harriott was a producer, singer, and record distributor who contributed to the development of the ska, rocksteady and reggae genres. He died Saturday morning. He was 87 years old.

“Derrick was a true pioneer of Jamaican music, and it is interesting that February 6, his birthday anniversary, is the same as that of Reggae legend, Bob Marley,” Minister Grange said.

Derrick Harriott founded the group the Jiving Juniors in 1958 and, in 1962, started the Crystal record label on which he released one of his biggest hits, The Loser, which inspired Freddie McGregor’s Winner which also was hugely popular.

“Through his music and his record store, he nurtured talent and preserved our music over many years. His National Honours which he received in 2009 was well deserved, as was his JaRIA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019,” Grange said in a press release.

“I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, his relatives and friends and to the music fraternity. Walk good, Derrick Harriott! Your genius lives on,” she concluded.