Evidently, this is strongest with loved or related ones, or when in an intimate relationship, like a close friend or direct relative. Yet, it can also go beyond that.
The sad loss of Jamaican reggae singer Donald “Tabby” Shaw, of the legendary Mighty Diamonds band (active since 1969), recently, is an example of the latter. It also is an example of the “sudden shock”, as it was due to gunshots from a car, thus a murder. So unfair, so shocking.. all the more since there were images of Tabby Shaw dancing, enjoying himself on music in what seems an outdoor party, only minutes before the fatal shooting. This took place in Waterhouse, a part of Kingston, Jamaica.
A long sickbed, or a longer period in the hospital awaiting the inevitable end is - even with some hope - of course not pleasant, but it has the benefit of mental “preparation”, a more gradual adaptation, moderating the trauma and strain on the brain. The sudden death of Tabby Shaw is, however, much more impactful, shocking, and traumatic.
Especially, but not only for people who knew him well personally. As a singer with a great voice, much musical talent, and as the voice of the legendary Mighty Diamonds, Tabby Shaw was a musical legend himself. Gifted with a beautiful, soulful voice, his talent reached beyond that to songwriting. While the Mighty Diamonds members wrote songs alternately or together – and many were written by other members – Tabby could sing them as they should, getting the best out of a song: making you feel it.
I myself consider myself a Mighty Diamonds fan, for years now, so I am genuinely saddened by this loss. You might even say that his, Tabby’s, voice, and the Mighty Diamonds songs, were one of the soundtracks of my life.
I am not being too dramatic, when I think that I got through certain periods in my life better and happier because of the Mighty Diamonds - and with that Tabby’s voice, being in most cases the lead singer of the Mighty Diamonds songs.
I remember I went some years regularly to Cuba (around 2004), bringing along the Mighty Diamonds great Deeper Roots album, at the end being the one I played most, even out loud. Many Cubans got to hear this type of Reggae because of this, and many seemed to like it, especially with those good grooves. Somehow it still fitted within the Caribbean Cuban son and rumba surroundings. I went mostly to Santiago de Cuba in SE Cuba, known as the "most Caribbean" part of Cuba, where Marcus Garvey' UNIA movement had many departments, once, by the way, partly among Jamaican migrants, so that also played a role: the Mighty Diamonds devoted several good songs to the Black emancipation leader Marcus Garvey.
In my home in Amsterdam, Netherlands, I further listened regularly several Mighty Diamonds albums, so you can call me a fan. Even their later, “modern-sounding”, Dancehall-influenced – but still “Rootsy” albums from the 1980s and 1990s I liked. Good songs, good music and riddims.
There was also a certain “liveliness” or “jolliness” about most Mighty Diamonds’ songs, often with party-like vibes, proving uplifting. The better drumming and percussion, along with the “jolliness” made me personally a bigger fan of the Mighty Diamonds, than of, say, Midnite/Akae Beka, who also have many fans. But that is my personal taste.. You can be intense without being gloomy or boring, is all I say. Tabby’s singing with the Diamonds showed that joyful intensity.
The lyrics of the Mighty Diamonds could have a party or love vibe, but often were “conscious” and Rastafari-inspired, like Akae Beka’s, only on another level, perhaps more concrete and daily in “social comment”, compared to the more abstract level, Vaughn Benjamin brought listeners to.
THE SCENE
I devoted another blog post of mine to Akae Beka’s Vaughn Benjamin, following his untimely, for many unsuspected death. I noted that Akae Beka had many fans in the Netherlands Reggae scene – including in Amsterdam, where I reside -, and often “passionate” fans at that.
This sudden death of Tabby Shaw received likewise much attention, and was met with sadness in the Netherlands reggae scene. Justly, he and the Mighty Diamonds have many passionate fans too, and for many in the scene, Tabby was also a “veteran”, “icon”, or “legend”.
Some Dutch musicians and promoters worked with Tabby and the Mighty Diamonds, such as Michelle Boekhout Van Solinge of the Black Star Foundation, once arranging a show of the Mighty Diamonds with Ijahman Levi (show!).. I can’t recall if I was there, but I should have been, haha.
Michelle also met Tabby several times in Jamaica, mostly professionally, with as tangible result the backing vocals by the Mighty Diamonds on Amsterdam-based artist Leah Rosier’s song All Over The World.
Tabby and the Diamonds have played with several Netherlands-based musicians, even on international stages (Rototom festival in Spain, in 2018), including among others the experienced Freddy Poncin on drums. That is a challenge for these non-Jamaican musicians, since the Mighty Diamonds always had quality musicianship – real Jamaican Reggae – including the likes of Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser, and (a special interest of mine) often nice added, varied percussion.
In the café called Jamaica Lounge in Amsterdam – not far from the part of Amsterdam where I live - , Jimbo, its Jamaican owner, told me he remembered the Mighty Diamonds from his youth in Jamaica, calling them “legends”, and describing their popularity. One of the first discs he ever bought, he told me, was a 12 inch (or “45”) of the Mighty Diamonds (feat. U Brown), costing then One Jamaican Dollar 30. Last time I went to Jamaica, a bag of a few grams of weed - enough for one big spliff, or 2 small joints – tended to cost about 1 US Dollar.. I had to think of this for some reason, when Jimbo told me of that price (1,30 Jamaican dollar for a 12 inch).. It’s however hard to compare.
I have seen several live performances of the Mighty Diamonds in Amsterdam, and elsewhere, having fond memories of them, sensing the quality music, and their particular strength: good vocal harmonies, and soulful vocals by Tabby. Valuable memories that cannot be taken away.
PERSONAL TRAYECTORY
I got into Reggae around my 11th year (1980s), and it took some time for me to get into the Mighty Diamonds.. In that stage, the “rougher” and mystical sounds/vibes of other Reggae bands like the Wailing Souls, Burning Spear, the Twinkle Brothers, or singers like Ijahman, attracted me more. This was perhaps due to the sophisticated and smoother (Philly/Motown) “soul” influence on the Mighty Diamonds, having myself just left a “soul” period (when I listened to e.g. Stevie Wonder). I wanted a change from that.
However, as I got to know more songs of the Mighty Diamonds, and started to pay attention to technical musical and vocal aspects, I appreciated them more and more. The voice of Tabby I liked, as well as the delicate, sophisticated harmony vocals. This differed from the vocal “call-and-response” focus of what is called “country” style Roots: bands like Culture, the Itals, the Twinkle Brothers, or the Wailing Souls. These bands also had great, intelligent harmonies, besides the call-and-response, but a bit “rougher”. Don’t get me wrong: I love “call-and-response”, so common in Black/African music, both as vocal as rhythmic (percussive!) aspect.. the Mighty Diamonds just elaborated more this very (originally African) call-and-response principle with their harmony vocals. In that sense, a bit similar to the Abyssinians, with likewise elaborate harmonies.
I liked most of the Mighty Diamonds albums, Deeper Roots (1979) - from a good period and studio (Channel One) - perhaps most, Right Time (1976) was a classic, and even an album that was considered a “flop”, even by the Mighty Diamonds themselves, Ice On Fire, following on the classic rootsy Right Time (1976) album, I enjoyed. It was a move to the US, to work with New Orleans musicians., maybe in response to the Black US “Soul” influence on the Diamonds. For many Reggae fans – expecting Roots like on the album Right Time before it - it was disappointing how US New Orleans musicians tried to approach Reggae wrongly, with some vague New Orleans R & B feels on this Ice On Fire album. The soulful singing of Tabby, and again quality harmony vocals, kept even this album listenable though, in my opinion.
Spread throughout their albums, the Mighty Diamonds had many, many good Reggae songs, some even classic ones, with Tabby Shaw’s beautiful singing, that will stand the test of time, due to their enduring quality. The flesh might die, but this music lives on.
AFTERMATH
The fatal shooting was such a sudden, ugly death, that it naturally had a shock effect, including on many fans like me. In the days after Tabby’s death, more speculation arose, linking the drive-by shooting not (just) to a sad coincidence, but actually a (criminal) retaliation. Some (Jamaican) sources mentioned the involvement in crime of Tabby’s son, actually being accused of homicide. The retaliation would relate to this, some think, explaining its uncommunicative, nasty execution. “Vindictive feelings ain’t appealing”, as Max Romeo sings on One Step Forward.
If this is true , it’s sad that Tabby’ son went “wayward”, so to speak, especially in light of Tabby’s positive lyrics, at times also lambasting crime. All kinds of social problems relate to this choice for a life of crime of course, but still a pity.
Another sad passing of another Mighty Diamond member got known too a few days after, the 1st of april of 2022: of Bunny Diamond (Fitzroy Simpson), mostly a harmony singer with the band, but a good songwriter too. In this case, he had a long illness (diabetes), and even could not perform often with the band, the last years. Still, he left his positive mark: vocally and writing several great songs for the band. The song Bodyguard is e.g. written by Bunny Diamond, but sung by lead singer Tabby..
Bodyguard was a later “hit”, while earlier classic hits in Jamaica and the Reggae world were the beautiful I Need A Roof, Right Time, Have Mercy, and of course Pass The Kutchie. The latter is probably also their internationally best known song, due to the cover (sans-ganja reference) by the British Musical Youth, with Pass The Dutchie. Only knowing Pass the Kouchie – however – serves no justice to the great artistry the Mighty Diamonds with their song book represented.
Some of my personal favourite Mighty Diamonds songs (other fans might have others):
-Africa
-Blackman
-Be Aware
-Cat O’Nine
-Red Tapes
-Shabby Raggy
-I Don’t Want Any Crumbs
-The Roots Is There
-That’s The Life
-Babylon Is Dangerous
-Fancy Lady
-Let the Dollar Circulate
-Corrupt Cop
Okay, all “conscious” tunes, but I also love some of the party songs, or love songs, with Tabby’s soulful voice, like Lost Without Your Magic, Talk About It (recorded with Lee Scratch Perry), Tonight, and they had some great other “ganja/weed songs” too, besides Pass The Kouchie (e.g. Peace Pipe). Even their head scratching-cover choices, in the end ended up okay, even improving on the original (Putting On The Ritz, for instance). Even better is their cover Gypsy Woman (originally by the Impressions, but covered in Jamaica before also, by the Uniques).
The Mighty Diamonds were a great band, so very sad that loss of two members (Tabby Diamond and Bunny Diamond) in a matter of days, with the also talented Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson remaining the only member alive. The legacy remains, of course.
CONNOTATIONS
In a broader context, the fatal shooting of Tabby Shaw shows other severe problems within Jamaica, or perhaps even the world: the gun and gang violence and rampant criminality, especially affecting poor ghetto communities in Jamaica, including Waterhouse, a ghetto area where Tabby was killed.
This actually got worse since the 1980s, many say due to political and CIA machinations in Jamaica bringing guns to Jamaica, where before early Rude Boys or “tough guys” had to be content with knives or machetes. Inter-party warfare and guns took a hold of poorer communities, with Dons (criminal leaders) coming to control areas of downtown Kingston, supporting a specific political party, therefore more or less protected, but thriving on division.
These historically developed links between poverty, politics, and violence/criminality in Jamaica have been the subject of many Reggae lyrics, including by the Mighty Diamonds, but little has been done over the years to halt it, at least not by higher-placed politicians, after all profiting from the divisions.
As Mutabaruka said in a recent radio show (also commenting on Tabby’s death), this gun violence and crime is an actual “pandemic” too, and much more neglected.
This also shows – in my opinion – the corruption and skewed nature of international and Jamaican politics: hardly addressing poverty, violence, and crime in Jamaica, yet enforcing draconian, dictatorship-like measures for the new flu virus, called Covid 19. Covid, according to nonpartial, nonpoliticized sources, was not even that mortal or severe, soon after April 2020 reaching flu-like levels, rendering it even – according to some – a “fake pandemic” or “plandemic”, with corona policies serving other elitist (political/economic) goals.
Meanwhile, serious (interrelated) poverty, crime, and violence problems in poor parts of Jamaica – and elsewhere in the world! – were neglected, and even sidelined because of the foolish “hype” of Covid 19.
Not even the totalitarian lockdowns or curfews, the corona policy makers liked so much, affected crime that much, only marginally and temporarily.
Corona policies, and now other “hypes” as distractions, such as the Ukraine war, outweighing even in Jamaica news about developments and wars on the continent most Jamaicans originate from: Africa..
The harsh corona policies did in the end not solve much medically (vaccines are a selling product for Big Pharma.. not much more: medical benefits limited for most people), but did benefit certain wealthy elites – also financially -, and a power hold on the populace – increased citizen control -, these same elites thought necessary.
On the other hand, really trying to solve inequality, hunger, poverty, and violence in the poorer parts of this world, was never attempted, only claimed by international organizations, or with little effect.
Tabby Shaw’s sudden, tragic death by a drive-by shooting (some say a “criminal retaliation”) in a ghetto area of Kingston – of someone who was before all a Reggae artist with positive lyrics -, is a sad and brutal reminder of the negligence of “real” problems in this world.
The very same real problems that the Mighty Diamonds addressed in many of their lyrics.
