One Saturday night in 1974, a young musician who was gaining his footing in Jamaica’s burgeoning new popular music scene, had a rendezvous with a girlfriend that went frightfully wrong. Written that Saturday night and recorded the following Monday, the single “Duppy Gunman” was released that same week, and soared to number 1 on the local charts almost immediately. The phenomenal success of “Duppy Gunman” is a testament to the influence that pioneering singer/songwriter Ernie Smith has had on Reggae music, both locally and internationally, becoming the first Jamaican musician to win an international music award.

This Saturday, April 23rd, Ernie Smith will make a rare appearance in New York for Bayville Entertainment’s Easter Nostalgia in Brooklyn, before heading to the Caribbean for a two-day stint in Grand Cayman from April 29th & 30th.

In the early 1970’s, when Reggae was little-known to the international music industry, Ernie Smith made history when he beat world famous songwriters Neil Sedaka and Michael Legrand to win the Grand Prize at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. To date, Ernie Smith has penned over 200 songs including classic singles “Duppy Gunman,” “I Can’t Take It,” “Play De Music,” “Elsaida,” and “Pitta Patta” which was also recorded by Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn. American pop singer Johnny Nash, Rita Marley, Chaka Demus & Pliers, and Dancehall icon Yellowman have also recorded music by Ernie Smith.