ABOUT JUDY MOWATT, OD

Judith Veronica Mowatt was born in 1952. At age 18 she became a member of the Estralita Dance Troupe and was touring Jamaica and the Caribbean as a stepping stone to getting into music, the passion of her heart. In 1967 she entered the music industry as a young vocalist with a very captivating voice and sang on the Federal Recording Label with a group called the Gaylettes. Her audiences loved her and she knew she was called to the performing arts. When two of the Gaylettes migrated to the USA, she started her solo career.
 
Looking back, Judy now realizes how God was ordering her steps. In 1971, she was invited by Sir Cox One Dodd to sing background with two ladies. After the recording, Marcia Griffiths, a well established singer, invited her and Rita Marley who had a group called The Soulettes, to sing with her at a performance. It was a natural chemistry that gave birth to the “I Threes”. Their performance caught the attention of Bob Marley and in 1974 they became the official background vocalists for him until his death in 1981.
 
Singing with Bob opened the door for Judy to get on the international stage. It was a very hectic life but a spiritual experience working with him, she noted. Bob always took his Bible to the studio to find some nugget to include in his songs. He was very disciplined and insisted on rehearsing even when there were no performances booked. “It made us always ready,” Judy confesses. “Working with the “I Threes” was fun because we were sisters and friends so it made it easy for us to blend musical harmony as our lives were like a song. It was a dream come true for me.”
 
In 1979, Judy Mowatt became the first Jamaican woman to record a solo album – Black Woman under the Tuff Gong label. In 1985, Judy’s album – Working Wonders, made her become the first female reggae artiste to be nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1999, the Jamaican government awarded her the Order of Distinction for outstanding contributions to music in Jamaica. Despite these accolades, Judy Mowatt puts more value on her legacy as a benefactor. Born to a teenaged mother and growing up with no father around, she is determined to play her part in poverty alleviation. Consequently, her music has become her ministry.
 
In her early twenties, Judy embraced Rastafarianism in her search for love, meaning and purpose. It was her opium and comfort, but still there was a void. In 1994 she was given a cassette recording of an interview with Emperor Haile Selassie. It changed everything. She converted to Christianity, faced the scorn of the only community she knew, but remained steadfast in her new faith which brought her the peace and love she was seeking. Today she sings gospel and reaches out wherever she goes with the same zeal she gave to Rastafarianism. As a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ her message is peace and love which she feels compelled to carry to a hurting world. Her music is her medium and Judy’s album – Something Old, Something New, is a summary of her new direction.