OWEN Gray turned 82 yesterday and he celebrated the occasion by singing an exuberant rendition of Patricia , the song that launched his career over 60 years ago.

The previous day, Gray was honoured by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual awards ceremony in Kingston.

Speaking from his home in London, Gray told the Jamaica Observer that he has received similar accolades in the United States and Canada but being recognised in his homeland makes the JaRIA nod even more special.

“This particular one is fantastically nice! I’m proud of it,” he said.

Gray has lived in the United Kingdom since 1962. He was part of a massive Caribbean migration to that country, most of them Jamaicans.

Three years earlier, the St Mary-born artiste recorded Patricia for a fledgling label named Island Records. Before moving to the UK he had a handful of hit songs for producers Clement Dodd and Leslie Kong. Gray also mentored other artistes, including Millie Small who had an international hit for Island in 1964 with My Boy Lollipop.

Anthony “Chips” Richards, a Jamaican who has worked in the UK music industry for over 50 years, produced many of Gray’s songs. He described him as “a magnificent artiste”.

Richards added that, “He’s more than just talent; his is a gift from God.”

Gray is numbered among the influx of Jamaican artistes who went to the UK in the 1960s when there was a growing market for their music. He has recorded in ska, rocksteady, reggae, rhythm and blues and gospel genres.

Before COVID-19 caused a global shutdown of the entertainment industry he performed in countries like Brazil, where his generation maintains a healthy following.

As he celebrated his birthday, Owen Gray likened himself to a vintage liqueur.

“I’m feeling finer than the finest wine,” he boasted.