The death of lead singer Tabby Diamond of the Jamaican harmony trio, The Mighty Diamonds, has left the reggae industry in shock.

“Tabby’s sound and persona and his voice were all basically compatible. He was smooth, cool, not a problematic person, pleasing, touching to the soul. He took everything in stride, he was one of the humblest persons I knew, nothing was a problem to him, he didn’t talk much. He would smoke weed and when it was time for him to sing, he was like a bird from heaven,” producer Gussie Clarke told OBSERVER ONLINE.

Considered the longest tenured reggae band in history, The Mighty Diamonds had been together for over 52 years. In 2021, they received Jamaica’s Order of Distinction on National Heroes Day for their sterling contribution to the development of reggae music. 

READ: Mighty Diamonds lead singer killed in drive-by shooting

“I think they have surpassed everybody, people after dem bruk up, people before dem bruk up, one of the beautiful things, their sound did not change, even 30 to 40 years after,” Clarke said.  

Tabby Diamond, 67, was one of two persons killed on Tuesday night in a drive-by shooting on McKinley Crescent in St Andrew.

The singer and another man, Owen Beckford, were killed when a gunman opened fire on a group of people outside a shop minutes before 10pm. Five people were shot in the incident.

Formed in 1969, the roots Reggae group comprised Donald “Tabby” Shaw, Fitzroy “Bunny” Simpson and Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson. They are best known for the singles, Right Time, Pass the Kouchie and I Need a Roof. 

“Tabby did the majority of the lead vocals and the others would fit in on ad hoc scenarios. He did the bulk of the work, 95 per cent, he sang lead on most of the songs, his sound was unique and different, and it worked for them,” Clarke said. 

Questioned about rumours that Tabby Diamond lived in destitute circumstances, Clarke responded:

“He was humble and simple, the house he lived in, he owned it, he couldn’t be poor, he was not interested in material things, he was a Rastaman. His lifestyle and ‘livity’ was along that path, he took it simple, he did not crave material possessions and as such, he had less problems than you and I.”

Tabby Diamond was a cool customer, almost never flustered.  

“I have known him 35 years and he never complained about nothing yet,” Clarke said. 

The Mighty Diamonds was formed in 1969. The group comprised three friends who all attended school together.

Originally, they called themselves The Limelight, and at the suggestion of Shaw’s mother, the name changed to the Diamonds until settling on 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 Kingston-based Channel One label. From that association came hits such as Hey Girl and Country Girl.

They scored big with their debut album Right Time in 1976 after signing with a major label, Virgin Records. This album was produced by Joseph Hoo Kim and spawned the eponymous hit single, Right Time. 

 In 1979, they released the critically acclaimed, Deeper Roots, another stellar work on Virgin imprint.

Three years later, they teamed up with celebrated Jamaican music producer Gussie Clarke to complete ‘Changes’ which spawned the monster hit Pass the Kouchie done on the Full Up rhythm. 

“My ‘Changes’ album led to ‘Pass the Dutchie’, one of the top selling reggae songs of all times, the Mighty Diamond (Ferguson and Simpson) wrote the Pass the Kouchie, Musical Youths did it over, and they would have been collecting publishing income for a long time, even until this day,” Clarke said. 

The breakout song, Pass the Dutchie, by then London newcomers Musical Youths, was one of the fastest selling singles in the UK in 1982, racking up over 100,000 copies in one day according to some online sources. The song removed the drug references of Pass the Kouchie. 

The Mighty Diamonds have released 47 albums including studio albums and live recordings. Though Fitzroy ‘Bunny Diamond’ Simpson has not been active on tour with the group due to a stroke he suffered six years ago, he had remained very much a part of the group.

A grieving Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson, one of the writers of Pass the Kouchie, said he had not slept all night after hearing the news. Judge, who started out as the lead singer of the group, was the main songwriter, leaving the vocalizing to Tabby. 

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

Although the Mighty Diamonds did not record a lot collectively as a group since 2012, Tabby was active in the studio releasing solo efforts, always highlighting his soulful tenor. 

“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,” Ferguson said.