Broadcast Icon Barry G Gets Baptised
Iconic radio broadcaster Barrington ‘Barry G’ Gordon, the man who helped to kickstart King Yellowman and Beenie Man’s careers, and to whom Dancehall deejay Rankin Toyan dedicated an entire song, was baptised this morning at the Kirkham Baptist Church in George’s Plain, Westmoreland.
Dubbed the King of afternoon radio, the self-described ‘Boogie Man’ said he was happy to give his heart to Jesus Christ, according to a Gleaner report which was shared on Instagram along with a clip of the baptism.
Dubbed the “King of Radio”, Barry G who is also known for his longstanding friendly musical clashes with his friend and fellow broadcaster David Rodigan of the UK, was the first radio broadcaster to leave the radio studios and play at parties and other events across Jamaica and the world. He was also a regular emcee at Reggae Sunsplash.
Barry G first became interested in radio broadcasting during his teenage years as a student at Kingston College. Upon graduation, he copped a job at the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) in 1975 as a producer after which he began doing vox pop features.
He was later given the evening programme, Turntable Time slot and eventually took on the coveted afternoon slot, rising to national fame in the 1980s with his show “Two to Six Super Mix”. The St, Mary native was also the last person to interview Bob Marley in 1981, in the Florida hospital where he died.
A household name, so popular was Barry G that in 1987, in what has been labelled one of the greatest radio-land coups, Radio Jamaica seduced lured him away from JBC. At Radio Jamaica, Barry G’s popularity grew exponentially and he secured the enviable status of having one million listeners.
So loved was Barry G by Dancehall artists that Rankin Toyon dedicated an entire Dancehall tune to the St. Mary native. Titled Spar With Me, the classic 1982 Dancehall track was laid on the Shenk I Sheck riddim and produced by Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, who was the top producer in those times. That song hailed Barry G for among other things, “chat pon radio station, fi suit everyone” and “playing Reggae music on the radio station”.
He is credited with making Yellowman becoming a superstar in Jamaica, after Yellowman won the Tastee Talent Show contest in 1982. At the same time he has been criticised for promoting “slackness” by virtue of his association with Yellowman, who has been blamed for bringing slackness to the surface and making it popular and accepted.
In a Gleaner interview back in 2004, Barry G had said that while he was influential in promoting dancehall in the 1980s, he had distanced himself when he saw it heading on a negative direction.
“I was blamed by critics for promoting this crudeness, but Yellow Man never fought on stage, nor carried a gun, he was a gentleman,” he had said.
“Whatever I did was deliberate. And interestingly there were rumours: “Yellowman is making all this money; he must be paying Barry G”. Payola: that argument came up. But people are so narrow-minded not to have thought that I was bring to prominence someone who was so underrated in terms of looking at his pigmentation and the stigma attached to albino. He was this underdog…,” he said.
As for Beenie Man, he has credited Barry G as the first disc jockey to play one of his songs on the radio, a moment the Romie artist described as unforgettable. The song in question was titled Too Fancy and according to Beenie, it was a huge accomplishment to have had Barry G introduce him to the world as he was the biggest name in radio at that time.
Since RJR, Gordon has undertaken stints at Power 106, Hot 102, and Klas FM. In 2007, he suffered from a stroke and did not return to the studios, until 2010 when he joined Mello FM, leaving 10 years later.
Barry G was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer in 2010, for his contribution to broadcasting. In 2020, he was also presented with a United States congressional proclamation from the Ninth Congressional District in New York for his work in broadcasting and entertainment.