by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – AS the world celebrates May 14 as Mother’s Day, South Florida Caribbean News hails women who are often the backbone of their families. There are a lot of famous ‘reggae mothers’ whose sound parenting is responsible for their children becoming successful. Here are some of them:
Cedella Booker
Bob Marley’s mother was a country girl from St. Ann parish in Jamaica. In the mid-1950s, she travelled to Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, searching for a better life and raised her son in Trench Town, the expansive ghetto that inspired some of his most famous songs. Eventually, she migrated to the United States, first settling in Delaware before moving to South Florida where she died in 2008 at age 81.
At her funeral service in St. Ann, her son Richard Booker spoke about her deep spirituality.
“She read her Bible every day and listened to gospel music every evening,” he said.
Constance Christie
In several of his songs, Shabba Ranks saluted his mother whom he called ‘Mama Christie’. A devout Christian, her life was a stark contrast to the bawdiness of her son’s hit songs which include Wicked inna Bed and Bedroom Bully. Yet, the two-time Grammy winner doted on his mother who was from rural St. Ann parish, but nurtured her family in the tough community of Seaview Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. She died in February, 2021 at age 81.
After receiving the Order of Distinction from the Jamaican government in October, 2016, Shabba paid homage to his mother.
“When mi look pon Mama Christie, mi jus’ know how beautiful life is ’cause she bring mi forth an’ nurture mi in di right an’ proper way so mi could become a progressive man in dis world. Every time mi look pon her mi see progress. Every time mi look pon her, mi see a representation of God Almighty… every time mi look pon her mi just see strength an’ niceness,” he said.
Carmen Farquharson
The mother of singer Richie Stephens is from Westmoreland, a sugar-producing parish where the chief town is Negril, one of Jamaica’s top tourist destinations. Known as Mama Carmen, she raised him in humble circumstances and has witnessed his success as an artist since the late 1980s when he broke through with Buff Baff. They have recorded several songs together, including They Call Her Moses which topped the South Florida Reggae Chart in 2021.
They also released an album titled Mother And Son that year.
“This is an album with my mother that (who) carried me for nine months and who nurtured me, as I never grew up with a father…That should explain even more how excited I am about this project. I feel very, very excited that we have accomplished this dream together,” said Stephens at the time.
Mavis Brown
The mother of rock steady icon Leroy Sibbles, she raised three sons in Trench Town, Kingston during the 1950s. According to Sibbles, the eldest, she had boundless energy and a resourcefulness that won the admiration of her community.
He believes his love for life comes directly from Mavis.
“We always had a great relationship because we are both Aquarians. She used to take me to the movies (in Kingston) and we’d sing together. To this day, we have a great time,” said Sibbles.
Mavis Brown is now 90 years-old and lives in Toronto, Canada with her family. Leroy Sibbles is one of the headline acts for The Art of Reggae Music Festival Mother’s Day Concert which takes place at Arts Park in Young Circle, Hollywood.
