The legendary Jamaican singer Marcia Griffiths is best known for singing “Electric Boogie,” the song that became the basis for the “Electric Slide” line dance. But as Griffiths explains in the latest episode of the online video series Bob Marley & I, she also served as a backing vocalist for Marley, the world’s most famous reggae icon.
In the video, Griffiths describes her experiences as one of the I-Threes, Marley’s group of backup singers, alongside Judy Mowatt and Marley’s wife Rita. She talks about going to Studio One, known as the Motown of Jamaica, and seeing Lee “Scratch” Perry point out Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. “Those three brothers were the three persons that you had to pass the test with,” Griffiths says. Suffice it to say, she passed the test.
The previous episode of Bob Marley & I featured Don Letts, the film director and DJ who served as a videographer for the Clash and co-founded Big Audio Dynamite with the band’s Mick Jones. In Letts’ episode, he recalls following Marley’s tour bus back to his hotel after a 1975 at London’s Lyceum. “Next thing you know, I’m sitting in Bob’s living room, watching him reason with the UK rasta elders,” Letts says. He goes on to explain how he forged a connection with Marley by producing a bag of high-quality marijuana, which led to another encounter two years later in which Letts defended punk rock to Marley, helping to inspire the song “Punky Reggae Party.”
Bob Marley & I is part of a year-long celebration commemorating 80 years since Marley’s birth. Billed as Bob Marley’s 80th Earthstrong Celebrations, the festivities also included an ‘Uprising’ Tribute Concert livestream from the Marley family’s Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. “I know Daddy would have a huge smile on his face and be so proud to know that his words of freedom, love, and unity would be sung by so many beautiful young souls around the world over 50 years after he wrote them,” said Marley’s daughter, Cedella Marley. “It’s a huge testament to the power of his music that his songs resonate stronger than ever and with each new generation. My father’s songs speak universal truths and that is why they sound as convincing coming out of the mouths of children as they did when he himself recorded and performed them.”
Listen to Bob Marley’s Legend now.
