Curtis Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Veteran female reggae artiste Marcia Griffiths literally schooled a young audience at Usain Bolt's Tracks and Records last Tuesday night, delivering a sensational performance and receiving several encores.

With her music not as popular on radio as it was earlier in her career, some patrons were a bit sceptic. However, as soon as Griffiths hit her first note, heads began to bob, the experienced singer eventually getting the full attention of her audience.

"We are here to have a whole lot of fun this evening," she promised her fans, and she made sure to follow through.

During her set, some patrons seemed surprised that she had such a large and timeless catalogue.

After reeling out some popular hits, at least one woman was heard saying to her partner: "Mi neva know seh a she sing dat."

Dreamland was clearly a crowd favourite. As soon as the band started her intro, the audience went crazy, some patrons belting out the words to her song as if it were a competition to see who knew the lyrics best.

Lady G guest performance

She also called on the service of another female veteran in the music industry, none other than Lady G.

The two performed a song which asked for an appreciation of life, Lady G getting good response from the audience as she chanted lyrics against abortion.

Griffiths stood on the stage with confidence and delivered her notes to perfection, successfully wowing the crowd .

This Griffiths achieved without using much contemporary material, aside from Queen Irfica's Lioness on the Rise.

Songs like I Shall Sing, Closer To You and Fire Burning had the members of the audience singing and yelling 'pull up'.

Called the 'Queen of Reggae', Marcia Griffiths started her career in 1964, performing on stage with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Between 1974 and 1981, she performed with the I-Threes, a background group which supported Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Her recording of Bunny Wailer's song Electric Boogie, released in 1976 and re-released in 1989, made the electric slide, a line dance, an international dance craze.

It reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it her most successful single. It remains the highest-selling single by a female reggae singer of all time.

Griffiths also had memorable moments during the event where she sang alongside Beres Hammond and Bob Andy.