Tweet

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines — Granville Leonard Straker, the pioneering Vincentian-born music producer, entrepreneur and founder of Brooklyn-based Straker’s Records, died on August 27 at age 86, his family announced.

Born on September 12, 1939, to the late Irena and Clement Straker, he became one of the Caribbean’s most influential music industry figures, helping to produce, preserve and distribute calypso and soca internationally.

Straker’s involvement in Caribbean music began in Brooklyn during the 1960s. As New York’s West Indian community expanded, he established record stores that connected Caribbean audiences with the music of home.

His landmark Straker’s Records outlets operated at 242 Utica Avenue and on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. His growing business also established a retail presence in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

In 1971, Straker founded the Straker’s Records label, creating a major platform for Caribbean performers at a defining moment in the development of New York’s Caribbean cultural scene.

Over approximately three decades, the label reportedly released between 600 and 700 albums, more than 1,000 12-inch records and several thousand singles.

Its celebrated roster included Calypso Rose, The Mighty Shadow, Black Stalin, Chalkdust, Lord Nelson, Lord Melody, Mighty Duke, Explainer, Winston Soso, Singing Francine and Machel Montano.

Among the label’s enduring recordings are The Mighty Shadow’s “Bassman,” which became one of the late calypsonian’s signature works, and Black Stalin’s “Ah Feel to Party.” The latter inspired the title of the retrospective collection, The Best of Straker’s: Ah Feel to Party.

Straker’s contribution extended far beyond producing records. Through his retail outlets and distribution network, he helped Caribbean artists reach listeners throughout the region and across the diaspora.

His work received widespread recognition, including the Martin’s International/Inter-Culture Award of Honor, presented during the 2009 International Reggae and World Music Awards.

Granville Straker leaves behind a towering legacy—a Vincentian visionary whose work helped carry the sound of the Caribbean from local communities to audiences around the world.