Tabby Diamond, Of Reggae Group Mighty Diamonds, Killed In Drive-By Shooting

Tabby Diamond, lead singer for the legendary Jamaican reggae group, The Mighty Diamonds, was one of two persons killed on Tuesday night in a drive-by shooting on McKinley Drive in St. Andrew.

The St. Andrew South Police confirmed that Tabby Diamond, whose real name is Donald Shaw, and Owen Beckford were killed when a gunman opened fire on a group of people outside a shop around 9:42 p.m.  Saw was 67.

Five persons were shot. Two men and a woman were also wounded in the shooting.

Fitzroy ‘Bunny’ Simpson and Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson are the remaining members of The Mighty Diamonds, the musical trio, formed in 1969.

A grieving Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson, one of the writers of Pass the Kutchie, said he had not slept all night after hearing the news.

“Tabby was one of the great soul singers, we toured the world together, he will be greatly missed,” Ferguson told DancehallMag.

“We had plans to tour Europe, the Caribbean and Africa, we were doing our 47th album, plus we had two more albums for other producers…I don’t know what is going to happen going forward.”

The Mighty Diamonds is known for hits such as Have Mercy, Pass the Kutchie (which became an international hit twice), and I Need a Roof.

Originally, they called themselves The Limelight. That name was shorted-lived as one of the group member’s mothers assigned them the moniker The Diamonds, which later morphed into The Mighty Diamonds.

The group’s breakthrough came in 1973 with the release of their hit, Shame and Pride. They kept the momentum, working assiduously with the Kington-based Channel One label. From that association came hits such as Country Girl and Hey Girl.

Virgin Records signed the Mighty Diamonds and the album, Right Time, was released in 1976, becoming an international success. The next album, Deeper Roots, released in 1979 was their next big success.

Three years later -1982- celebrated Jamaican music producer Gussie Clarke tasked the group with completing an album entitled Changes, which featured the monster hit Pass the Kutchie done on the Full Up rhythm. It spawned a series of interpretations, amongst them, Pass the Dutchie, by then London newcomers Musical Youths.

In 2021, the group was honoured in the National Honours and Awards on the occasion of Jamaica’s 59th independence celebrations.