Judy Mowatt’s global significance unquestionable

Judy Mowatt is a global superstar by any stretch of the imagination and this lies outside of her work with the I-Threes and Reggae legend Bob Marley.

In fact, Mowatt is the first female reggae artiste to be nominated for a Grammy Award.

There aren’t many who know that Mowatt’s voice was not a part of the equation when she began her sojourn in entertainment, as the acclaimed reggae songstress, in fact, began as a dancer with the Estralita Dance Troupe.

It was later that she became a member of the Gaylettes and even later that she embarked on a solo career involving her first hit single, ‘I Shall Sing’. The song, produced by Sonia Pottinger, was originally performed by famed South African songstress, Miriam Makeba.

Mowatt was not just a beautiful voice but was also an astute businesswoman and wanted to maintain creative control of her work.

That meant forming her own record label. She did so as founder of Ashandan.

But Rita Marley came calling and Mowatt once again became a part of a singing group, this time, one that would go down in the annals of reggae music history as one of the greatest to ever exist.

The other members of the I-Threes, Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths were also superstars in their own right with all going on to form successful solo careers after offering the Bob Marley sound, something different since they started providing backing vocals from 1974 until the reggae legend’s death in 1981.

But Mowatt began releasing solo efforts even before the disbanding of the I-Threes, releasing her first solo album, ‘Black Woman’ in 1979.

The album, done for the Tuff Gong label, the same one that had produced music for The Wailers.

In 1985 came her Grammy-nominated album, ‘Working Wonders’, but, of course, there were to be many more.

Mowatt, all told, produced 10 solo albums. This is outside of the great albums she did as part of the Gaylettes and the I-Threes.

Mowatt’s music always represented her beliefs, and when she converted from Rastafari to Christianity, so did her sound.

As a gospel act, Mowatt was also successful, although the majority of stories featuring her legend, harkened back to her days as a reggae crooner.

Mowatt is also known as a philanthropist and formed the Judy Mowatt Outreach Ministries, a non-profit organisation geared towards assisting the vulnerable and the incarcerated in Jamaica.

For her contribution to reggae music, Mowatt received the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) from the Jamaican government in 1999.

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