Marcia Griffiths 4

Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born in Kingston Jamaica on 23 November 1949). She is a singer of Jamaica’s Rocksteady and Reggae genres. She is often called the “Queen of Reggae”.

She started her career in 1964 performing at shows with a popular band called Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Later that year she initiated her first recordings with producer Coxsonne Dodds of Studio One where she did duets with singers such as Tony Gregory (“You’re Mine”), Bob Marley (“Oh My Darling”), Jeff Dixon (“Words”) and Bob Andy (“Always Together”),

In 1967 she made her debut as a solo artist with “Hound Dog” and by 1968 she had her first hit single with “Feel Like Jumping”. She also released her debut album in 1967 called “Marcia at Studio One”.

In 1970 she formed a duo with Bob Andy called Marcia and Bob. However, their first recording together was “Always Together” in 1967. The duo had their first international hit with “Young Gifted and Black” (1970), which was produced by Harry J and released by Trojan Records.

In 1971 the duet, Bob and Marcia made another international hit with “Pied Piper”, which made the charts in England.

In 1974 Marcia and Bob Andy decided to pursue separate careers. Marcia along with Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt formed the I Threes which provided backing vocals for Bob Marley and the Wailers until the time of Marley’s death in 1981.

In 1978 and 1979 Marcia recorded two albums for record producer Sonia Pottinger, “Naturally” (1978) and “Steppin” 1979.

In 1983, the I-Threes released their first album “Beginning”.

In 1991 she had a major hit on the US Billboard Charts with “Electric Boogie” which peaked at number 51 on the chart.The song was originally written and produced by Bunny Wailer in 1982 and re-recorded in 1989 for her album “Carousel“ (1990).

In October 2014, she was awarded by the Jamaican government with the honour of Order of Distinction for her contribution to Jamaican music.