Morna Dodd, daughter of legendary Studio One producer Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, is hopping mad at what she called a gross misrepresentation of her father as a gun-slinging ‘badman’ in a scene in the recently -released film Bob Marley: One Love.

“It’s very insulting,” she told Observer Online.

She is demanding a public apology from Paramount Pictures and the Marley family.

“The portrayal of my father to millions of people globally as him approaching and threatening teenage children with a gun is not true, and a gross misrepresentation of my father’s memory and legacy,” she said.

Dodd is referring to a scene where Sir Coxsone, played by Jamaican actor Jeff Crossley, pops off a gun and discharges the weapon in front of the teenage Wailers. The Wailers then approach him to audition for a song.

“My father Sir Clement “Coxsone” Dodd is the original producer of The Wailers and of the song One Love. He is also recognised as the father figure of the marriage between Bob and Rita Marley in February 1966, where Bob for a time was boarding with him at the studio on Brentford Road,” Dodd said.

A mural depicting the founder of Studio One, Clement Seymour “Sir Coxsone” Dodd, was unveiled to celebrate the iconic music studio. (Photo: Chris Lewinson/BUZZ)

Coxsone Dodd played a major role in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He had the first black-owned recording studio in Jamaica, and even had a popular sound system, Downbeat. Coxsone held regular Sunday evening auditions in search of new talent, and it was during this period that Dodd auditioned Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer singing as a part of The Wailers.

As shown in the movie, the Wailers had their first recording session with Dodd. The union produced one LP, two number one hits, Simmer Down and It Hurts To Be Alone, and lesser known songs such as Straight and Narrow Way, and How Many Times.

In the early 1960s, Dodd was producing ska hits by Toots and the Maytals, the Gaylads, and the Skatalites. By the late 1960s and 1970s, Studio One produced hits for Burning Spear, Ras Michael, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, Sound Dimension, and Sugar Minott.

Studio One would begin to produce major international artistes on a regular basis and it was not long before it was referred to as the University of Reggae and, indeed, the foundation label of all reggae music.

Coxsone conceptualised the idea of a vertically integrated studio with a record label, record shops, and a popular dancehall sound system, a successful model which was later adopted by other producers.

“My father, in developing this great music industry was equally dealing with young teenagers as much as playing in the very competitive sound system environment that built and is still building Jamaican music,” Dodd said.

“Reggae music today would not be the same if it wasn’t for Studio One and Coxsone Dodd. Put some respect on his name! I haven’t heard anything from anyone in the Marley family about my dad’s portrayal in the movie.”

Coxsone died in 2004 at age 72.

Morna Dodd plans to host an event on May 4 (anniversary of her father’s death) to celebrate her father’s life at the newly opened Dodd’s Lounge in Ocho Rios.