The song that changed Denroy Morgan's life
Published:Tuesday | July 12, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
In the summer of 1981, an unknown Jamaican singer named Denroy Morgan walked into the Right Track recording studio in Manhattan, New York, where he cut I'll Do Anything For You, a reggae/funk song that would change his life.
Now in his mid-60s, Morgan remembers hearing the song throughout West Indian communities in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, weeks after he recorded it. But it was not until he went to a popular nightclub named the Garage in Manhattan one night, that he realised how big it was.
"I went into the control room an' the song was playing, an' when I saw the people on the dancefloor moving to it, it was like a beehive," he told The Gleaner recently. "I couldn't believe it."
It has been 30 years since the biggest song of Morgan's career was released. Produced by Burt Reid, an American of Jamaican parentage, it peaked at number 40 on Billboard magazine's pop chart.
For the Clarendon-born Morgan, who had lived in the United States since 1965, I'll Do Anything For You hit at the right time.
"I had a growing family an' the song allowed me to tour an' earn some money. It changed my life financially," he said.
Morgan says he worked as a dishwasher and short-order cook during his early years in Brooklyn. He was also a regular on the West Indian club scene with various reggae and funk bands.
Prior to I'll Do Anything For You, his biggest recording was Shock Them which won the New York Reggae Festival competition in 1977.
The success of I'll Do Anything For You earned Morgan tours with hot rhythm and blues acts of the time including Evelyn 'Champagne' King, Slave, the Gap Band and poet Gil Scott-Heron. He was also signed by the major RCA Records.
Morgan is the patriarch of the Morgan Heritage band and its offshoot, LMS.
They released a cover of I'll Do Anything For You several years ago.
Denroy Morgan's latest album, Link Up With Ethiopia, was recently released by VP Records. He and his son, Laza, are scheduled to perform this evening at Studio 38 in Kingston.