The Mighty Diamonds
One of the most famous Jamaican vocal groups of the '70s and '80s, the Diamonds consisted of Donald ‘Tabby’ Shaw (lead vocals), with Fitzroy ‘Bunny’ Simpson and Lloyd ‘Judge’ Ferguson providing the harmonies and occasional lead. They recorded unsuccessfully for Stranger Cole and Rupie Edwards, among others, before their breakthrough in 1975 with Joe Joe Hookim's Channel One studio. Hey Girl and Country Living were big reggae hits, but their next release, Right Time on Hookim's Well Charge label, brought everything together. The Diamonds initial success was due to a number of reasons: the influence of Burning Spear's championing of Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey; the definitive three-part rocksteady harmonies of The Heptones, together with Sly Dunbar's militant rockers style of drumming on ‘do-overs’ of timeless Studio One rhythms; and, of course, their own superb songwriting, vocal abilities and the odd knack of somehow managing to sound urgent and relaxed at the same time. 
Jamaica erupted into Diamonds-mania while the Channel One ‘rockers’ sound they had brought to prominence was to dominate reggae music for the next few years, with every drummer in the business developing his very own Sly Dunbar impersonation. Virgin Records was busy acquiring reggae artists in 1976, and the Diamonds and Hookim signed with them for the release of their debut, RIGHT TIME. It was a classic collection, showcasing perfectly the Diamonds uncanny ability to write catchy, meaningful songs—whether about ‘love’ or ‘reality’—and set them to updated versions of some of the greatest Studio One rhythms. They sold throughout the reggae world and picked up many crossover sales. Virgin sent the Diamonds to New Orleans to work with veteran producer Allen Toussaint, which resulted in ICE ON FIRE. It was not well-received, and sold poorly—mainly because its misguided approach baffled reggae fans, while the Diamonds name still meant very little to a wider audience. 
They continued to work at Channel One, and many more hit singles came through during the '70s. In 1981, the dub plates of tunes they had recorded for Gussie Clark were the most played on the Kingston and London sound system circuits. The most popular of these tunes was released on a 10-inch, dub plate style record in New York, a 7-inch in Jamaica and a 12-inch in England; Pass The Kouchie, an updating of a '60s Studio One instrumental Full Up, was a massive hit. This eventually became Pass The Dutchie for the English group, Musical Youth, which was a worldwide pop hit. (A ‘kouchie’ is a pipe for smoking ganja, while a ‘dutchie’ is a type of cooking pot.) The rest of their work with Gussie was released on CHANGES, which consisted of the same combination of new songs and old rhythms, with some classic reggae songs, including Party Time and Hurting Inside, performed in the inimitable Diamonds style. 
For the rest of the decade and on into the '90s, the Diamonds have continued to consolidate their reputation as one of the best vocal harmony trios in the business with regular releases for a variety of different producers and some lovely self-produced records. Their harmonies are always tight, and their songs usually manage to avoid obvious and naive statements. In the constantly changing world of reggae, they are always a reliable and dependable source of top-quality music, and if their performances have not been quite up to the exalted standards of RIGHT TIME and CHANGES, it is perhaps too much to expect of them to change direction in a radical fashion at this stage in their careers.