STITCHIE ‘SIZES UP’ NATIONAL AWARD

Stitchie wishes his mother could have seen him receive OD

When the list of recipients of national honours and awards was made public on August 6, among the those to be conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer was the Reverend Dr Cleve Aman Laing for his contribution to the development of reggae and dancehall music, both locally and internationally.

The ceremony of investiture is slated for King’s House in St Andrew on October 18.

Known in musical circles as Lieutenant Stitchie, or simply Stitchie, he first made waves on the scene in the mid-1980s with his breakthrough hit Wear Yuh Size. A string of hits would follow to include Natty Dread, and Night and Day would lead to the artiste being signed to Atlantic Records. He then shifted gears and became a Christian, performing his brand of gospel music and spreading the word.

When the Jamaica Observer caught up with Stitchie, he shared that the call to inform him of his latest achievement came as a surprise and left him stunned.

“I was in a parking lot. I had just got back to my car when the phone rang. It was a number I did not know, so I was a little hesitant as I don’t usually answer numbers that I don’t know. I reluctantly opened the line and waited for the caller to speak. The person told me they were call on behalf of the prime minister and that she was informing me that the Government was conferring a national award on me. Would I accept? I said: ‘Yes, sure!’ But all the time still wondering if this was a prank.” After sharing the details of the award and other pertinent information, the call ended. Stitchie explained that the telephone conversation left him dumbstruck.

“It was so much to take in one gulp. And it’s not like I don’t think I am worthy of the award, but all when mi a drive home I was thinking to myself: ‘Ah wah jus’ happen?’ So I called my friend, Ricky Stereo, and told him and he said: ‘It’s no prank. When God a bless you, that’s how it comes’.”