Marcia Llyneth Griffiths was born in November, 23rd, 1949 from Joseph and Beatrice Griffiths.
The Griffiths Family was living in a poor area of West-Kingston, but Marcia considers those days as glorious.
And that thanks to the richest and precious thing that owned the family: love!
As a teenager, Marcia went to school in Kingston and took part of a choir. She liked to be part of the concerts or choirs organized by her school. She also liked to hang up and sing with friends. Sometimes, once her parents were at bed, she used to leave the house during the night in order to meet her friends.
She was only 15 when Philip "Boasie" James (
The Blues Busters) remarked her and her talent.
One day, Philip went to his girlfriend's house who was Marcia's neighbour and as he heard Marcia's voice in the air, he fell in love with it. He couldn't believe his ears. He talked to Marcia and took her to Byron Lee (
Byron Lee & The Dragonaires) to make her sing at The Carib Theater of Kingston. A new talent was born, a star...
By the way, Marcia remembers that Byron Lee was, at first, very upset to be disturbed by Philip for this unknown girl.
Next, they made her sing Carla Thomas'
No Time To Loose.
After that, a lot of people were interested in Marcia's young talent. And during this very night, Byron Lee and his manager Ronnie Nasralla took her to the JBC studios where Marcia made her first steps into television.
It all happened during a single night. Marcia became a real star, the Empress of Reggae!
Marcia recorded songs very early (still as a teenager) as for example the magnificent tune
"You Mean The World To Me",
"I Cried" or
"Honey" on which Marcia had a very young voice but a golden one.
In the early sixties, she recorded a song with Bob Marley, a duet called
Oh My Darling, her very first duet with Bob Marley.
In 1970, Marcia succeeds by associating with
Bob Andy. Together, they are called
Bob & Marcia, a duet. Songs like "
Young Gifted And Black", "
Always Together", "
Pied Piper"... are their hits.
Her greatest hits from the sixties are "
Feel Like Jumping", "
Tell Me Now'", "
Melody Life", "
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "
When Will I See You Again?"...
Feel Like Jumping was a smash-hit from 1967.
Then, Marcia sang as a solo artist in the seventies with hits like
Steppin' Out Of Babylon,
Truly,
Dreamland...
In 1973, Marcia was phoned by Rita Marley (who had already met her). Bunny Livingstone and Peter Macintosh had just left the band called
"The Wailers", leaving Bob Marley alone, with no background vocals. Thus, Rita Marley asked Marcia to join the band in order to sing beside Judy Mowatt and herself. Together, they are called the
I-Threes, the famous and successful trio! They become a small female band among The Wailers, for whom they sing. What's more, they will sing as Bob's chorists until the end of the group (until Bob's death in 1981). But after that, the I-Threes kept on singing together and are still touring together all over the world.
In 1973, Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths sing the harmonies on the album
Catch A Fire by Bob Marley & The Wailers. Then, in 1974, they sing again on the album
Natty Dread (plus Judy Mowatt).
Even though Judy, Rita and Marcia had all had a solo career, they have never stopped singing as The I-Threes.
When Marcia was working as an I-Three with The Wailers, she recorded two solo albums in 1978 and 1979:
"Naturally" and
"Steppin".
The late French singer Serge Gainsbourg (who died in 1991) decided to record a reggae album in 1979. He worked with reggae musicians, in Jamaica, and asked for The I-Threes (Judy, Rita and Marcia) to make the vocal arrangements. Thus, we can hear Marcia and her friends' voices in Gainsbourg's reggae songs like
Lola Rastacouère or
Aux Armes Et Caetera...
Around 1981, Marcia performs a song entitled
Electric Boogie. She let her friend Bunny Wailer hear the song and he transformed it into a success hit.
Electric Boogie became a huge hit at that time and even a dance was made for this. In 1990, Marcia makes a new version of Electric Boogie in her album
Carousel.
In the past, Marcia had performed a few songs in German for Philip Records in Germany: “
Bleib By Sir" (Stay Right Here) and “
Alles Ist Wunderschoen” (Everything is Beautiful).
In 2005, Marcia celebrated 40 years of career! (the album
Shining Time, VP Records 2005)
Her career really started in 1964-1965, when she was 15-16!
I shall sing, as long as I live...LONG LIFE TO MARCIA GRIFFITHS, THE QUEEN OF REGGAE!!!!!
