Leroy Sibbles, Marcia Aitken, Mighty Diamionds For Merritone Family Funday On Sunday

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Veteran singer Leroy Sibbles, who rose to fame during the ‘Golden Era’ of reggae and Marcia Aitken, who busted on the scene as a teenager with her 1977 hit single ‘I’m Still in Love with You Boy’ are both confirmed as performers at the 21st annual Merritone Family Funday on Sunday, August 11th, slated for Heckscher State Park, Long Island NY. Sibbles and Aitken will join the Mighty Diamonds who were previously announced as performers.

Leroy Sibbles, Marcia Aitken, Mighty Diamionds For Merritone Family Funday On Sunday 1 — Leroy Sibbles

Sibbles, described as ‘the greatest all-round talent in reggae’s history’ by Kevin O’Brien Chang and Wayne Chen in their book Reggae Routes, was a session bass player and arranger at Clement “Coxson” Dodd Studio One label. He joined The Heptones in 1965 as lead singer alongside Earl Morgan and Barry Llewellyn, releasing signature Heptones songs “Baby,” “Get In The Groove,” “Ting A Ling,” “Fattie Fattie,” “Got To Fight On,” “Party Time,” and “Sweet Talking.”

Leroy Sibbles, Marcia Aitken, Mighty Diamionds For Merritone Family Funday On Sunday 2 — Marcia Aitken

Aitken’s 1977 hit ‘I’m Still in Love with You Boy’ got mainstream publicity almost two years ago when pop queen Beyonce used the original version of the song to announce her “On The Run II” tour with husband, rapper Jay-Z. The Beyonce mention earned Aitken a booking at Groovin In The Park in New York and earlier this year she was invited to perform at Rebel Salute in Jamaica.

“My career has seen a big resurgence since the Beyonce feature to promote her world tour” Aitken shared.

“Beyonce’s Instagram post with a clip of my song was viewed more than 9 million times. It also aired on a number of mainstream TV platforms including Entertainment Tonight (ET), that is syndicated across the US” she said.

‘I’m Still in Love with You Boy’ was a #1 number hit song in Jamaica and the UK in the 70’s and was sampled by DJ Trinity on his popular hit ‘Three Piece Suit’ and Althea & Donna’s ‘Uptown Top Ranking.’ Aitken scored another #1 hit with Trinity titled ‘My Man’ in 1978.