‘Legends never die’

Sixteen years after his death, Gregory Isaacs’ legacy continues to grow.

At the September 15 Excellence In Music Ceremony at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston, the singer received 10 awards. The accolades — which included a platinum disc from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for Simply Red’s cover of his song

Night Nurse

— were collected by his wife June. That single, released in 1982, also earned a silver disc from the BPI for sales of over 200,000 in the UK. The album of the same name got similar recognition for selling over 60,000 copies in that country. June Isaacs also received certificates for four of her husband’s albums which were nominated for Best Reggae Album Grammys. Those are

Mr Cool, Private and Confidential, Brand New Me,

and

Gregory Isaacs and King Isaac — Isaacs Meets Isaac.

The ceremony, staged by London-based Back 2 Da Future Music Ltd, issued 95 discs and certificates to artistes, musicians, producers, and engineers. Kennedy Mensah, head of that organisation, spoke of Isaacs’ enduring popularity in the UK, where he died in October 2010 at age 59. “Gregory is a legend, and legends never die, their legends just grow,” he said. In May 2025,

The Cool Ruler: The Musical

, a stage production based on Isaacs’ life, had a successful six-show run in the UK. Terrence Wallen, the British artiste who played him, performed several of Isaacs’ songs at the Excellence In Music Ceremony. Known as The Cool Ruler, Gregory Isaacs was from Denham Town in West Kingston. He broke through in the 1970s with songs such as

Love is Overdue, All I Have is Love, Slave Driver, Soon Forward,

and

Tune In

. — Howard Campbell