Dennis Brown: a pioneer and cultural icon: The Gleaner
Winner of the Swing award for top singer in 1972,
Dennis Brown (left) receives his plaque from Minister of Industry and Tourism
P.J. Patterson, currently Jamaica's Prime Minister.
[Picture]
PRIME MINISTER P. J.
Patterson, on behalf of the Government, Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, Bruce
Golding for the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and individual politicians,
yesterday paused to pay tribute to the memory of Dennis
Brown.
"Over the years, Dennis Brown
has distinguished himself as one of the finest and most talented musicians of
our time," said a news release from the Prime
Minister.
"The Crown Prince of Reggae
as he was commonly called has left us with a vast repertoire of songs which will
continue to satisfy the hearts and minds of Jamaicans for generations to
come."
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
leader Edward Seaga expressed shock at the death of the musician. "I remember
'Little Dennis Brown' as we called him in the '60s being a part of my youth in
West Kingston," said Mr. Seaga, recalling Brown's first performance at the
National Arena before an audience that included then Prime Minister Hugh
Shearer.
JLP Member of Parliament Babsy
Grange also reminisced about the Dennis Brown of West Kingston. "He was one of
our shining stars," she said, "one we loved dearly. We shall miss him and his
great musical performances." The death of Brown, the fifth international
Jamaican artiste to pass away this year, "means that we'll be entering the new
millennium poorer artistically," Miss Grange
added.
Extending sympathies to the
Brown family and members of the music fraternity, the NDM's Bruce Golding noted
that "Jamaica has lost a gifted and powerful
musician."
JLP MP for South Clarendon
Mike Henry described Brown as one of the pioneers and "imparters of the soul and
spirit of Jamaica's music."
July
1999.
Posted: Sat
- April 10, 2004 at 09:35 AM