Shaggy Says He Was Honored To Perform ‘Mother And Child Reunion’ With Jimmy Cliff At Paul Simon GRAMMY Tribute

Dancehall megastar Shaggy says he was honored to perform the Reggae hit song Mother and Child Reunion alongside Jamaican icon Jimmy Cliff at the Recording Academy’s special tribute concert, held in honor of 16-time GRAMMY winner Paul Simon, earlier this year.

The concert, dubbed Homeward Bound: A GRAMMY Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, aired on Wednesday, December 21, on CBS television network, but was held earlier this year on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

Speaking during a Recording Academy post-rehearsal interview, which was recorded earlier this year, but also released on Wednesday, Shaggy pointed out that the American legend’s songs, including Mother and Child Reunion which was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, were popular in Jamaica from back in the day.   

“I was asked to do it, and I thought it was an honour. I am a big fan of Paul Simon’s work, his whole repertoire.  You know, it’s one of those music that I’ve grown up on, I was raised on.  Especially in Jamaica, a lot of those music were played, especially on Sundays in my household.  And when you think about the Simon and Garfunkel songs which is like Bridge Over Troubled Water… and the of course the Graceland album, those songs are staples in many Jamaican households,” the Hot Shot artiste said.

“We’re doing A mother and Child Reunion which is a Reggae song, and I am doing it with a Reggae great, and one of my heroes which is Jimmy Cliff… and we had a lovely rehearsal this evening, earlier and just kinda worked out whatever the kinks we have.  And it was great to see Paul just onstage just kind of arranging how he wanted to sound and how he wanted us to sing it. And so that’s one of those standout moments for me,” the Rae Town native added.

Alongside Shaggy and Jimmy Cliff, the tribute included GRAMMY-winning artists and past and current GRAMMY nominees, including Brandi Carlile, Rhiannon Giddens, Angélique Kidjo, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Brad Paisley, Billy Porter, Take 6, Irma Thomas, and Trombone Shorty, and Paul Simon himself.  

Mother and Child Reunion, which featured Jimmy Cliff and his musicians, was the lead single from Paul Simon’s second studio album, the self-titled Paul Simon released by Columbia Records in 1972.

Decades ago, in an interview, Paul Simon spoke about how Mother and Child came to be recorded as a Reggae song, instead of on the Ska beat that he had initially wanted.

He also demonstrated with his guitar, what the melody would have sounded like if he had recorded it on a Ska beat.

“Mother and Child Reunion: When I went down to Kingston, I went down to cut that as a Ska record, and musicians there said ‘no, Ska is out’.  Its Reggae.  That’s the first time I heard of the term Reggae,” he explained before plucking the ska beat on his guitar and humming the melody. 

Mother and Child Reunion was one of the few Reggae songs by non-Jamaicans in the 1970s.  And, according to reports, because, Simon was a fan of artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker and Byron Lee, he had wanted to go to Jamaica to record the song, as that was where Cliff had recorded his anti-war song Vietnam in 1969.

The song was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios at Torrington Bridge in Kingston with Cliff and his backing band, among them the legendary guitarist and session musician Lynford “Hux” Brown, bass guitarist Jackie Jackson, rhythm guitarist Wallace Wilson, organist Neville Hinds, drummer Winston Grennan and percussionist Denzil Laing.

Released as a single on February 5, 1972, Mother and Child Reunion peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Charts, topped the South African charts, went to No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and was ranked by Billboard as the No. 57 song of 1972.