One of the very first artists to begin recording in Jamaica, Derrick Morgan, is beloved as a ska icon and a pioneer of the ‘skinhead reggae’ style.
Blessed with a rich, deep tenor, which with he belts out his clever and often humorous lyrics, Morgan became known on the Kingston music scene through Vere Johns’ regular talent contests, and enjoyed a lengthy run of hits during the 1960s for producers such as Simeon Smith, Duke Reid and Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd (among others), cultivating a popular vinyl feud with Prince Buster after being brought into Leslie Kong’s camp by the young Jimmy Cliff.
Morgan moved to England during the late 1960s to capitalise on the skinhead reggae craze, but was back in Jamaica from the early 1970s, and since Bunny Lee was his brother-in-law, the two have always maintained a close working relationship.