After being presented with his Grammy Certificates at Island SPACE Caribbean Museum in Plantation, South Florida, on July 17, guitarist Radcliffe “Dougie” Bryan was asked if there was any artiste he had not played with. He quipped, ‘“Maybe Jesus.”

The veteran musician, who turned 77 on July 24, accepted seven Grammy Certificates from the Recording Academy of America.

Making the presentation was Kennedy Mensah of Back 2 Da Future Music Limited, a music publishing company based in London.

Bryan, who toured for over 40 years with Toots and The Maytals, was also a member of The Revolutionaries, house band at Channel One studio, and Sly and Robbie’s Taxi Gang.

He received certificates for playing on three Grammy-winning albums — Black Uhuru’s
Anthem, Crucial! Roots Classics by Bunny Wailer, and Got to be Tough by Toots and The Maytals.

He was also recognised for his work on Light Your Light and Ska Father by Toots and The Maytals, Hanging Fire by Jimmy Cliff, and The Messiah by Sizzla, which were nominated for Best Reggae Album.

“I woulda much rather the Grammy, but we give thanks all the same,” Bryan told the
Jamaica Observer.

The ceremony was attended by members of his family, including his wife Paula and daughters Claudia Bryan-Campbell and Sherrie-Gay Brotemarkle.

Mensah, a former journalist, has been a music publisher since 1999. He has operated Back 2 Da Future Music Limited for 19 years, and represents a number of Jamaican artistes and musicians, including keyboardist Ansel Collins, who earlier this year received a Grammy Certificate for playing on Cliff Hanger by Jimmy Cliff, winner of the 1986 Best Reggae Album Grammy.

In an interview with the Observer, he addressed the importance of these awards.

“I think at some point every unsung hero has to have their own song sung. It’s not fair for them to remain unsung forever, so this ceremony goes a little way to shining the spotlight on one unsung hero,” said Mensah, who was born in London to Ghanaian parents.

Born in Trelawny, Bryan began playing guitar in the mid-1960s, but first came to prominence with The Sensations, a harmony group that also included lead singer Jackie Parris. They had success at Treasure Isle studio with songs like Baby Love and Everyday Is A Holiday.

During the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s Bryan played on classic songs like
Sweet And Dandy, Monkey Man, and Funky Kingston by Toots and The Maytals;
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and General Penitentiary (Black Uhuru), Soon Forward (Gregory Isaacs), and Love And Devotion (Jimmy Riley).

Mensah says more Grammy Certificates will be presented to artistes and musicians on August 13 at the ATL Audi Showroom in Kingston.