by Howard Campbell
[Bronx, New York] – Earl Moodie, a pioneer in New York City reggae, died here September 17 at age 69. No cause of death was given, but his son Earl Jr said he had been ailing for some time.
Moodie was synonymous with Moodie’s Records, the vinyl-strong retail store he opened along White Plains Road in the Bronx almost 40 years ago.
Along with other Jamaican music business stalwarts such as the VP Records label and producer Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes, Moodie helped put reggae on the map in the Big Apple. His influence grew during the 1980’s when the Jamaican presence grew rapidly in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
From the Papine area of Kingston, Moodie migrated to the United States in 1969 and started his entertainment career as lead singer of The Stepping Stones reggae band.
He was also a salesman at Brad’s Records, another White Plains Road Jamaican establishment that was a major source of reggae in New York in the 1970’s.
One of his colleagues there was Michael Barnett, now a broadcaster with Kool 97 FM in Kingston, Jamaica.
He remembers Moodie as a quiet person who was a student of Jamaican music.
“Earl opened his store in the early ’80s and the rest was history for him, as he became the go-to record store in New York for hard-to-find Jamaican and American oldies … and he successfully remained in the business right up to the end,” said Barnett.
He added that, “Earl surely made a vast contribution
to the New York music and entertainment landscape and he will always be remembered as a good human being.
May his soul rest in peace.”
