by Howard Campbell
KINGSTON, Jamaica – “Reggae My Life Is”, the much-anticipated memoirs of veteran booking agent and tour manager Copeland Forbes, is scheduled for release in 2020.
Forbes, whose 50-odd year career has seen him work with reggae legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Dennis Brown, has worked with a ghost writer over the last 18 months. He has big plans for a launch.
“It will be on a significant date with a star-studded lineup of some of the artists mentioned in the book. Readers and music fans can expect a book full of knowledge, history, facts, stories, evolution and growth of Jamaica’s music culture,” he said.
Forbes added that, “Several launches in different parts of the world are in the pipeline.”
Born in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, the 72 year-old Forbes has pitched the book for several years, but said its progress was stalled due to a number of factors.
He started in entertainment during the late 1960s when the term reggae was first coined. Prior to his foray into music, he was a member of the Boy Scouts and part of the welcoming party for Britain’s Princess Margaret when she arrived in Jamaica in August, 1962 for the official ceremony marking the country’s independence from the United Kingdom.
Forbes was also part of a similar group for Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I when he visited Jamaica for a state visit in April, 1966.
Over the years, he has witnessed some key moments in reggae history. These include the April, 1978 One Love Peace Concert which starred Marley and Tosh; and Jimmy Cliff becoming the first reggae act to perform in Apartheid South Africa in May 1980.
This year, Forbes was road manager for Marcia Griffiths on her European tour to promote Timeless, her latest album.
He was awarded the Order of Distinction, Jamaica’s sixth highest honor, in 2017.
