‘He taught us how to love’
Peetah Morgan laid to rest
“IT IS well with Peter’s soul. He taught us how to love, he taught us about unity, he taught us about connecting to the source, the source which was Jehovah… Jah!” were among the words used to pay tribute to Peter ‘Peetah’ Anthony Morgan at his memorial service held in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.
Peetah Morgan, the lead singer for Grammy Award-winning reggae group, Morgan Heritage, passed away at the age of 46 on February 25, this year.
Known for his influential contributions to reggae music, Peetah was one of the many children of Jamaican reggae-singer Denroy Morgan.
Tributes came from members of civil society and the entertainment and music industry including Catherine Goodall, co-founder of Re-Define Business Services Limited. In a heartwarming and moving tribute, Goodhall said Peetah has left behind a profound legacy of musical innovation and cultural resonance.
“Peter’s legacy will continue to resonate through his timeless music and the enduring spirit of Morgan Heritage. He has enchanted audiences with his harmonious compositions and infectious energy, bringing people back to their roots in Jamaica as he captured the hearts of people worldwide,” Goodall said.
Morgan Heritage, formed by Peetah and his siblings Una, Nakhamyah ‘Lukes’, and Memma latel ‘Mr. Mojo’ Morgan in 1994, gained international acclaim for their Grammy-winning reggae album Strictly Roots.
For some early albums, including Protect Us Jah (1997) and Don’t Haffi Dread (1999), Morgan Heritage worked with Bobby Digital, one of Jamaica’s most influential producers. Before a show at New York City’s Irving Plaza in 1999, a New York Times music critic wrote that the band “holds on to the 1970s reggae traditions of harmony singing and thoughtful messages”.
THROWBACK
But Morgan Heritage was more than a throwback to an older era of reggae. AllMusic.com described its sound as a blend of “elements of roots reggae, lovers rock, soul, R&B, calypso, gospel, dub, and on occasion, funk and dancehall”.
Several Morgan Heritage albums had deep runs on the Billboard reggae charts. One of them, Strictly Roots won for best reggae album of the year at the 2015 Grammy Awards. The band’s album Avrakedabra was up for the same award two years later, but lost out to Stony Hill by Damian Marley.
Morgan Heritage began touring in the early 1990s and released its first album, Miracle, on MCA Records in 1994, according to VP Records, a reggae label that released several of the band’s other albums.
Their latest album, The Homeland, released in 2023, highlighted reggae’s African roots and featured collaborations with musicians from Jamaica and Africa. The project happened after the band did a show in Kenya in 2015 and began spending time there and in Ghana, and realised how connected Jamaica remained to Africa.
Peetah was also described as a husband, father, son and brother. He is survived by his wife Maria Gunabe-Morgan, 11 children and two grandchildren.
For years, his brother Roy ‘Gramps’ Morgan performed alongside his sibling. In a tribute since his passing, Gramps said Peter was the greatest little brother he had, highlighting his ability to ignore the noise in the industry. “It still doesn’t seem real. You will forever be in our hearts. Rest in peace my bro! Mi nuh know wah a go happen after dis, ennuh,” he said.
He recalled fond memories of him and his brother growing up, and a dream that Peetah had about instructing him to go and tell everyone about Jah. “He was always searching, and we always had to grow spiritually,” Gramps explained.
Tributes also came from his other brother Mojo Morgan, who said Peter is now following the divine spirit. “His unique voice stood out and was instantly recognisable, and could not be compared to anyone else. He created a distinct musical footprint, that his identity could not be mistaken.”