Singer and producer Roy “Gramps” Morgan, a member of the Morgan Heritage group, recalls the recording session of the song Sunshine Girl by J Boog and his brother Peetah Morgan.

“It was an incredible night after an award show. The owner of Washhouse Records, Jonas Teel, said he wanted to go into the studio, and I said, “Let’s go!’ I did not have a song for the track, so me and my brother Peetah wrote the song on Williamsburg Bridge heading to the studio in Manhattan. And by the time we got there the song was done and we taught the artiste the song once we arrived. It was a joy to share both cultures and the Polynesian culture in Jamaica, and you can hear that in the words, especially,” Gramps told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

Sunshine Girl, a single released from J Boog’s 2011 sophomore album Backyard Boogie, was on Monday January 12 certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales and streaming equivalent exceeding 500,000 units.

Said Morgan: “One of my fondest memories was the process, and singing the background vocals with my brother in the studio winning my first set of awards as a solo artiste on the same night at the IRAWMA [International Reggae And World Music Awards] and heading to the studio afterwards. The memory of me and my brother driving across the bridge and being in the studio that night was truly incredible. The process of how we wrote the song stands in my head still ‘til this day how fast it was done.”

Sunshine Girl was recorded at former Fugees member Wyclef Jean’s studio in New York City.

Morgan, who produced the song, is pleased with the song’s certification by the RIAA.

“This is an incredible achievement. When I produced the song it was about a cultural blend and me sharing a bit of the history of Jamaican music. This is a ska track, not your everyday reggae track, and we wanted to show the artist the history of the music. So now to know that it is officially a gold record, I am very humbled. Many people don’t know me as a producer, but me and my brothers have hands in many of the records that you hear out there today. In those days social media wasn’t such a big thing, but I guess it is now so let’s celebrate this monumental moment,” Morgan said.

J Boog’s Backyard Boogie album, which was released in October 2011, went straight to #1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

Aside from Peetah Morgan, singer Tarrus Riley is also featured on the album, with a guest spot on the song She Give Me Lovin.

Some of the songs on the 13-track set were recorded in Jamaica at Digital B and Big Yard studios.

Another track from the album,
Let’s Do it Again, was certified platinum in the United States in February 2024.

Gramps is currently promoting the song Where My Heart Belongs, which pays tribute to Jamaica, on his forthcoming still-untitled solo album.

“My latest single is taken from my upcoming album. I don’t have a release date yet, but the single is called Where My Heart Belongs and the song is speaking about my love for Jamaica and many people around the world that wish to spend more time in Jamaica, but their heart is always there. I took the opportunity to release this song after hurricane Melissa to comfort people around the world, Jamaicans and people who have been travelling to Jamaica for many years,” said Morgan.

Recently, Gramps and the other members of the Morgan Heritage group performed in St Croix, US Virgin Islands. He also did a solo set in Antigua last weekend.

Peetah Morgan passed away in February 2024.

Peetah Morgan

Gramps Morgan performing in Antigua last weekend.