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Roy "Gramps" Morgan (born July 7, 1976) is a Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, 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.
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2 Sides of My Heart, Vol. 1 |
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| *Reggae Music Lives |
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| Positive Vibration |
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| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| One Calling | |
| "Don't Haffi Dread" |
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| "Three in One" |
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| "Full Circle" |
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| Live Another Rockaz Moment |
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| "More Teachings" |
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| Protect Us Jah |
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| Moegan Heritage Live in Europe |
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| Mission in Progress |
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| Morgan Heritage Family and Friends Vol. 3 |
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| Here Comes the Crown |
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| Strictly Roots |
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| Live in Amsterdam 2003 |
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| Loyalty |
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| Penthouse Flashback: Morgan Heritage |
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| Avrakedabra |
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| Legacy |
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| Homeland |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Deeper |
|
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Life Too Short" | 2012 | Non-album singles |
| "Free" | 2014 | |
| "People Like You" | 2020 | |
| "Be Free" (with Mojo Morgan and Stephen Marley) | ||
| "Runaway Bay" | Positive Vibration | |
| "Fa La La La La" | Non-album single | |
| "Runway Bay" (Acoustic) | 2021 | Deeper |
| "Wash the Tears" (Acoustic) | ||
| "A Woman Like You" | Positive Vibration | |
| "Positive Vibration" | ||
| "If You're Looking for Me" | ||
| "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | Non-album single |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Therapy" (India.Arie featuring Gramps Morgan) [A] [B] | 2009 | Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics |
Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru. The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful period in the 1980s, with their album Anthem winning the first ever Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1985.
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.
India Arie Simpson 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.
Damian Robert Nesta Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. The second youngest child of Bob Marley, he is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. They have toured internationally and released a number of reggae albums.
Beres Hammond OJ is a Jamaican reggae singer known in particular for his lovers rock music. While his career began in the 1970s, he reached his greatest success in the 1990s.
Inner Circle, also known as The Inner Circle Band or The Bad Boys of Reggae, are a Jamaican reggae band formed in Kingston in 1968. The band first backed The Chosen Few in the early 1970s before joining with successful solo artist Jacob Miller and releasing a string of records. This era of the band ended with Miller's death in a car crash in 1980.
"Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, which includes lead singer Ziggy Marley with Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Stephen Marley. Formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members began their musical endeavours in their pre-teens under the name the Melody Makers.
Clifford Smith, better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall singjay.
Shauna McKenzie, known by her stage name Etana, is a Jamaican reggae singer. Her debut studio album, The Strong One, was released in June 2008. In December 2018, Etana was nominated for the 61st & 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album.
Orville Richard Burrell, known professionally as Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae musician who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In the Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.
Jah Roots were a reggae band from Springfield, Missouri. The band was active from 2001 to 2009. They released several albums under the independent label GanJah Records, with a local and international following. Jah Roots broke up in 2009. Since then, lead singer Josh Heinrichs has established a successful solo career.
Dwight Pinkney OD, also known as Brother Dee, is a Jamaican guitarist best known for his work as a session musician and as a member of Zap Pow and the Roots Radics, who since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist.
Donald Kinsey was an American guitarist and singer, best known as a member of the Word Sound and Power Band, the reggae backing group for Peter Tosh.
Omar "Tarrus" Riley is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.
Laza Morgan is a Jamaican American reggae singer and rapper. The son of reggae musician and artist Denroy Morgan, he started as a member of the Jamaican dancehall / hip hop trio formation LMS, alongside his siblings Noshayah Morgan and Miriam Morgan. Later on Otiyah "Laza" pursued a solo singing career.
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.
Jamar Rolando McNaughton, popularly known as Chronixx, is a Jamaican reggae artist. His stage name replaced the name "Little Chronicle" which he was given because of his father, the singer "Chronicle". Chronixx and his music has been branded as a "Reggae Revival", alongside other reggae musicians including Alborosie, Dre Island, Jah Bouks, Jah9, Protoje, Kelissa, Jesse Royal, Keznamdi and Kabaka Pyramid. His lyrical content revolves around themes of anti-war, romantic declarations and resiliency.
Grace Latoya Hamilton, known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall musician, singer, and songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Dancehall" and credited as one of the most influential female Jamaican artists of all time, she is recognised as one of the most prominent dancehall artists in the world. Known for her aggressive flow, musical versatility and outspoken lyrics, Spice first gained recognition after performing at the annual Sting festival in 2000. She released her first single "Complain" for record producer Dave Kelly's Madhouse Records in 2003. She continued to release singles through the 2000s and was even featured on songs with Jimmy Cliff and Beenie Man.
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