Negril To Pay Tribute To Reggae Singer Edi Fitzroy

Reggae artist Bushman is set to headline a quartet of artists who will perform at a Tribute to the late Reggae icon Edi Fitzroy at the Bella Donna Restaurant and Bar in West End Negril, Westmoreland, on Tuesday (January 23).

The Lighthouse artist will be joined by Super Black, Roland Burrell, and Junior Vibes, at the Summerset Road location, a short distance from the Negril Lighthouse.

According to event promoter and singer Bella Donna, Edi Fitzroy, with whom she had a close relationship back in the 1980s, and early 1990s, the heydays of live Reggae music on Negril’s West End was dear to her heart, thus the decision to pay a special tribute to the Reggae legend.

“We met in about 1982 and I used to help him a lot because then you know he was working at JBC and had kids and so, and he always said to me you’re such a great person; you’re a prophet and a nice woman.  He told me Bella; I wrote one of my songs for you because you are such a great woman. It is Princess Black that I wrote for you because you always been working from 9 to 5.  You’re so precious. So, he wrote that song for me,” she told Dancehall Mag in a recent interview.

In relation to the tribute to Fitzroy, Bella told DancehallMag that aside from the four major acts, other upcoming performers will be taking the stage.

“We have other small acts…a lot of special performances on that day,” she explained.

Fitzroy, who whose given name was Fitzroy Edwards, died in March 2017, at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon, his home parish.

Born in Chapelton, Clarendon, Edi Fitzroy was perhaps best known for legendary, Princess Black, which was recorded in tribute to black women.

Edi who studied accounting at the West Indies Commercial Institute later worked at the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) for 22 years before pursuing his music career full time.

He has been credited with being the first radio personality to play Reggae music on air. According to historical records, Fitzroy and a co-worker had locked themselves in a studio where they played reggae for an entire day shocking their other colleagues.

Among Fitzroy’s Classic Reggae songs were the iconic Princess Black, Youthman Penitentiary, and Prison Life.

Back in 1982, Fitzroy was presented with an award by the Press Association of Jamaica for his contributions to the development of Reggae.   For three consecutive years, he was also presented with the Most Culture-Oriented Artist award at the annual International Music Awards held in Jamaica and the US.