Derrick Harriott

Derrick Clifton Harriott was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 6 February 1939. He was the last of five surviving children; a sister, Marylyn, born just before him, died very young. His father taught commercial subjects including shorthand, typewriting and bookkeeping, and former pupils would still stop Harriott decades later to say they had been taught by his father. His mother, Doris Victoria Harriott, was a housewife who later emigrated to New York and sent for her son in 1959. Growing up, he listened constantly to his older brothers' radio and to sound systems such as V Rocket and Admiral Cosmic at Shady Grove near Hope Gardens, absorbing American singers from Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole to Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, Jimmy Reed and Fats Domino.

Harriott did not attend a formal primary school; he described himself as a "veranda school man", taught in small groups on a teacher's veranda. He then attended Excelsior High School in Kingston, which had been founded by his maternal uncle Wesley Powell, who was also its headmaster. At Excelsior he met Claude Sang Jr and Maurice Wynter, his first musical partners, and sang at school concerts. Watching the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour at the nearby Palace Theatre gave him the confidence to enter the contest himself.

Harriott entered the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour as a solo act in 1955, then won repeatedly from 1957 as half of Sang and Harriott with Claude Sang Jr. In 1958 he formed the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang, Eugene Dwyer and Maurice Wynter, who became headliners of the Opportunity Hour finals. "Lollipop Girl" (released by Duke Reid in 1960) and "Over the River" (for Coxsone Dodd, 1961) were major hits, and a New York edition of the group cut "Sugar Dandy" at Mirasound Studios before splitting in 1962.

Going solo, he launched his Crystal label. He dated his first production session to 1960 at Ken Khouri's Federal Records studio, where he recorded "What Can I Do (The Wedding Song)". Solo hits included "I Care", "The Jerk", "I'm Only Human", "The Loser", "Solomon", "Do I Worry" and "Walk the Streets at Night", many featuring guitarist Lynn Taitt. As a producer he worked with Keith & Tex ("Tonight", "Stop That Train"), The Ethiopians ("No Baptism"), The Kingstonians ("Singer Man"), Rudy Mills, Junior Murvin (then recording as Junior Soul), DJ Scotty, The Chosen Few, Big Youth, Earl 16, Winston McAnuff, Sly & The Revolutionaries and Dennis Brown, whose 1972 album Super Reggae and Soul Hits he produced.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Trojan Records ran its Song Bird and Explosion labels largely around his productions, and his house band the Crystalites released spaghetti-western flavoured instrumentals such as The Undertaker (1970). Swing magazine named him Top Producer of 1970. He was among the first producers to use King Tubby's mixing at Waterhouse, issuing Scrub A Dub in 1974 and More Scrubbing the Dub in 1975. In the 1980s he had hits with soul covers such as "Skin to Skin" and "Checking Out", and with deejay combinations including "Starting All Over Again" with Yellowman (1988) and a song with Papa San.

Alongside music he ran a record shop for around six decades, first on King Street in downtown Kingston and later at Twin Gates Plaza in Half-Way Tree, and he reissued his large Crystal catalogue. He performed into old age, including the Legends of Ska festival in Toronto in 2002, Riverside Stomp in Mainz in 2013, a first Buenos Aires concert in 2014 and shows in Mexico.

Harriott divided his time between Kingston and New York for much of his life, a pattern that began when his mother settled in New York in the late 1950s. He was a friend of Bob Marley from the late 1960s, when their record shops faced each other in downtown Kingston. In November 2021 he had surgery in New York and spent his 83rd birthday recuperating there, mentioning that his children had sent him flowers and fruit. The names of his spouse and children have not been made public in the sources consulted. He was described in tributes as a smooth crooner and a nurturer of young talent.

Harriott believed deeply in the healing power of music, telling an interviewer in 2015 that "Music is like medicine". He regarded rocksteady as the greatest era of Jamaican music, crediting its melodies, lyrics and musicians, and repeatedly singled out Lynn Taitt as its key figure. He admired the originality of The Wailers and believed Jamaican cover versions often surpassed the originals because of the Jamaican beat. In 2022 he used a birthday interview to appeal to Jamaicans to reject crime, saying "Crime poisons." He also spoke of faith, saying "God will keep me and I'll keep on keeping on."

Harriott is remembered as one of the first Jamaican artists to become a producer of other acts, and as a bridge between American rhythm and blues and soul and Jamaican popular music. His Crystal catalogue, including "The Loser" and Keith & Tex's "Stop That Train", has been reissued widely and sampled and versioned many times; "Stop That Train" featured in the 1972 film The Harder They Come. His early use of King Tubby helped shape dub. In April 2026 the Jamaica Observer ranked him 18th among the 20 greatest personalities in rocksteady. His record store was described in tributes as an institution that preserved Jamaica's musical heritage.

Top Producer of 1970, named by Swing magazine in 1971. Order of Distinction (OD), awarded by the Government of Jamaica in 2009 for contribution to Jamaican music. Lifetime Achievement Award in Music, Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) Awards, 2019. Ranked 18th in the Jamaica Observer's 20 Greatest Personalities in Rocksteady, April 2026.

Harriott gave a detailed two-part interview to United Reggae in 2015, recalling the Jiving Juniors, Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd, Lynn Taitt and Dennis Brown. He appeared in a Jamaican Legends conversation with Herman Sang and Boris Gardiner, on the Sunday Scoops programme discussing the birth of the Jamaican music industry, and on the Foundation Radio Network. Live footage includes his 2013 Riverside Stomp set in Mainz with The Moon Invaders. The Jamaica Observer interviewed him on his 83rd and 86th birthdays.

Harriott was the target of several false death rumours on social media, including in November 2020, February 2022 and in the years that followed. He called them "a downright lie" that hurt his family and fans, and joked that those spreading them were "a bit off-key". He also recalled a dispute over "Stop That Train", which he registered with Keith Rowe and Texas Dixon before learning that the Spanishtonians had recorded a version earlier.

Derrick Harriott died at his home at about 1 am on Saturday 24 October 2026, aged 87. Dorrel Mattocks, operator of the Derrick Harriott Music Store at Twin Gates Plaza, told The Gleaner that he had been sick and in and out of hospital, and had recently been discharged and returned home. A specific cause of death has not been made public. The Jamaica Gleaner and Jamaica Observer reported his death the same day, and tributes followed from People's National Party leader Mark Golding, broadcasters and fans. Funeral arrangements had not been announced at the time of writing.