Once the heartbeat of Jamaica’s music industry, the North Parade area of downtown Kingston is no longer a hub for artistes, musicians and producers.

On February 23, the Sounds And Pressure organisation unveiled plaques honouring five persons who made their mark there.

Vincent and Pat Chin, co-founders of Randy’s Records; Winston Riley of Techniques Records; Joe Gibbs; and Sonia Pottinger, were acknowledged by Sounds And Pressure, a collection of industry veterans that formed in 2006.

Julian Jingles, chairman of the non-profit body, spoke to the Jamaica Observer about the importance of preserving these sites and acknowledging reggae’s pioneers.

“They are the people who made major contributions, sacrifices, applied their creativity and vision to establish Jamaica as a country and Kingston as a city, which are meccas of world culture. These artistes and entrepreneurs are to Jamaica’s history what Beethoven, Caruso are to Europe, The Beatles, Shakespeare are to England, Duke Ellington, Berry Gordy and Aretha Franklin are to America,” he said.

Pat Chin is the lone survivor of the stalwarts honoured nine days ago. She attended the ceremony with her son Chris, CEO of VP Records; also present was David Pottinger, son of Sonia Pottinger who died in 2010.

The ceremony took place directly in front of the old Randy’s Records store, which was a one-stop outlet where persons purchased 45s and albums. The Chins also operated a recording studio where some of reggae’s outstanding work — including Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey album — was done.

Vincent Chin died in 2003, Gibbs in 2008, and Riley in 2012.

This is the second gesture recognising reggae’s trailblazers by Sounds And Pressure. In February last year the organisation unveiled a plaque honouring producers Lee “Scratch” Perry, Clement “Coxson” Dodd and Cecil “Prince Buster” Campbell.

“We focus on record producers, promoters, and sites. So, the honorees of Sunday, February 23 — Vincent and Pat Chin of Randy’s Records, Sonia Pottinger of Tip Top Records, Winston Riley of Techniques Records, and Joe Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Studios — all operated around North Parade and Orange Street,” Jingles explained. “Last year’s honorees, Coxson Dodd, Prince Buster and Scratch Perry all operated in the vicinity of Orange [Beat] Street and Charles Street. With the input of Kingston Creative, our partner in the ‘Meet Us On Beat Street’ festival, we’ve done murals featuring artistes and musicians who contributed to the creation of the Jamaican music industry.”

Jingles’ colleagues in Sounds And Pressure are: Roy Black, Clarence “Ben” Brodie, Gladstone “Manny” Campbell, Trevor “Leggo” Douglas, Colby Graham, Colin Leslie, Keith Lumsden, Cheryl Osbourne, Diane Smith, Dr Dennis Howard, Dulani Williams, James Samuels, James Howard, Charmaine McKenzie and Tara Bucknor.