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Roy "Gramps" Morgan (born July 7, 1976), is a Jamaican singer, instrumentalist, producer, record executive, and entrepreneur. Gramps was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised partially in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is the son of well-known reggae artist Denroy Morgan, and member of Grammy Award-winning reggae band Morgan Heritage. Most of his brothers and sisters are also in the music business.
Gramps Morgan was born in Brooklyn, New York, in a large family of 30 children. He was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts by his mother, Pearl Foster, and father, Denroy Morgan. He attended Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts with the likes of former NBA player Travis Best. Gramps was a star football player and had multiple scholarship offers to colleges and universities around the country. His passion for music that was embedded at such a young age won the battle between a future in sports versus music. Nevertheless, Gramps was destined for a life in entertainment and continues to do so through his band and on his solo career path.
Following in the steps of his father, he became part of the Morgan Heritage formed in 1994 together with four of his siblings. The other band members are Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. Gramps Morgan plays the keyboard in the band and is also a vocalist alongside Peetah Morgan, the main vocalist. For over two decades, they have had a number of successful reggae albums. To date, the band has released 12 albums, including 2016 Grammy Award Winning Best Reggae Album Strictly Roots . Additionally, Morgan Heritage received 2 Grammy nominations for their album Avrakedabra released in 2017 and feature on Shaggy and Sting's album titled 44/876 .
Gramps Morgan has also flourished as a successful solo artist and created his own label, Dada Son Entertainment. Gramps has toured and performed with the likes of India.Arie, Buju Banton, John Legend, Tarrus Riley, and Kymani Marley. In 2009, Gramps released his debut solo album entitled 2 Sides of My Heart, Vol. 1, which earned him a number awards. He was also featured on the India.Arie song "Therapy" that charted in the United States. His second solo album, Reggae Music Lives, was released in 2012. Again, Gramps featured on an India.Arie album entitled Songversation . Gramps continues to expand his vocal diversity with upcoming music in a variety of genres recording from all parts of the world.
In 2020, Gramps Morgan released several solo singles including "Runaway Bay" and "People Like You." The latter was nominated in 2021 for three International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) in the categories of Best Song, Best Crossover Song and Best Gospel Song, and won the award for Best Gospel Song. Gramps Morgan was also nominated for Best Male Vocalist. [1]
In August 2021, Gramps Morgan released his third solo album, Positive Vibration, produced by Canadian Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Johnny Reid. The album features guest appearances by India.Arie, Shaggy, Lybran, Denroy Morgan and Jemere Morgan. [2]
Gramps Morgan currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is an active community member and hosts his own radio show on Acme Radio. He is married to cell and developmental biologist, Dr. Annabelle Manalo. Also known as Dr. Annabelle or Dr. Annabelle Morgan, Gramps's wife received her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Gramps has 11 children, with his oldest child being Jemere Morgan, who is the pinnacle of the Morgan family's 3rd generation of music. [3] Jemere Morgan has released 2 of his own albums, entitled Transitions and Self Confidence, through Dada Son Entertainment. Jemere frequently tours worldwide both alongside his family and with various other acts.
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B [4] | US AC [5] | |||
| 2021 | "Positive Vibration" | Positive Vibration | ||
| 2021 | "A Woman Like You" | Positive Vibration | ||
| 2020 | "Runaway Bay" | Positive Vibration | ||
| 2020 | "People Like You" | |||
| 2009 | "Therapy" (India.Arie feat. Gramps Morgan) | 22 | 22 | India.Arie album Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics |
2022 Butterfly Deeper
David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After the disbandment, Ziggy launched a successful solo career by having released eight solo studio albums on his own record company, Tuff Gong Worldwide. Ziggy continues his father’s heritage to record and self-release all of his music. Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner and a Daytime Emmy Award recipient.
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
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India Arie Simpson, also known as India Arie, is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Acoustic Soul, was released in 2001, and she has since released six more studio albums. Arie has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide, and has won four Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, including Best R&B Album.
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Denroy Morgan was a Jamaican-born American reggae artist. Morgan traveled to the United States in 1965, at the age of 20, to become a musician. He was part of the formation of the Black Eagles, a New York City reggae band in the 1970s, before launching a prosperous solo career in the 1980s onwards. His children, encouraged by his success, have also taken on musical careers themselves including Laza Morgan, Gramps Morgan, and in family bands LMS and Morgan Heritage.
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