THE emergence of reggae meant exciting times for Jamaican youth in the early 1970s. Tyrone Downie and Bernard Harvey were young musicians who helped develop this new sound.

Both keyboardists, they were close friends for over 50 years. On Tuesday, Harvey, known as Touter, recalled his friendship with Downie who died on November 6 in Kingston at age 66.

“I first met Jumpy D sometime in late 1970. He was the previous keyboard player with Youth Professionals before I was tapped. He immediately gave me the moniker Touter, saying there can only be one Organ D as people were referring to me as Organ D also. We became close friends and made our names doing sessions for just about every artiste and producer during that time,” Harvey told the Jamaica Observer.

Downie and Harvey came from tough communities in Kingston. Downie grew up in Cockburn Gardens and attended Kingston College, while Harvey was raised in Whitfield Town and was a student at Excelsior High School.

They were in bands that played Jamaica’s club scene during the early 1970s. Downie joined Bob Marley’s Wailers band; Harvey became a member of Inner Circle which he is still with.

As reggae took off internationally during the 1970s, Downie and Harvey worked on countless hit songs as well as albums now considered classics. They played on Bob Marley and The Wailers’ 1976 album Rastaman Vibration and Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear, which was also released the previous year.

“People may not know that all of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ concerts in Jamaica during the 70s had us both on keys with the exception of Smile Jamaica,” said Harvey. “Tyrone was very influential on me in many ways with his encouragement and always checking to see how I was progressing. Over the years, our paths led in different directions but we still managed to call each other to catch up.”

Tyrone Downie’s catalogue as a session musician is enormous. In addition to albums by Marley, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, he helped shape African reggae by arranging songs by Alpha Blondy from Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour.

It is a legacy admired by many persons including Bernard Harvey.

“I was shocked to get the news of his passing. He has laid a solid foundation in our genre on which others can build,” he said.