Murder She Wrote — the story
Murder She Wrote — the story . Murder She Wrote —
The Jamaica Observer
Dancehall duo Chaka Demus (left) and Pliers

Singer Pliers was inspired to write a song about an ex-girlfriend who claimed she was pregnant and, after nine months, there was no fruit of the pregnancy.

That song was recorded by multiple producers but neither version made any impact. Among those producers were Harry Johnson (Harry J), Clifton “Specialist” Dillon, and Maurice “Black Scorpio” Johnson.

Deejay Chaka Demus, whose verses of the hit song Murder She Wrote, were originally recorded by producer Bobby Digital, said his verse was inspired by someone he said had a “pretty face but a bad character”.

But in 1992 both Pliers and Chaka Demus decided to record their songs as a collaboration, and this time it clicked with music lovers as Murder She Wrote.

“We first performed the song at a show in Florida and we decided that, when we returned to Jamaica, we were going to record the song as a collaboration. We went to Sonic Sounds on Retirement Road and we recorded it with Sly and Robbie. But we weren’t in a voicing box like most songs were done. Sly dem sit down ‘round a desk and I had the mic in my hand and passed it to Pliers, and then we just passed the mic around while doing our parts of the song. That’s how the song was recorded,” Chaka Demus told the Jamaica Observer in an interview on Sunday.

Murder She Wrote was released in the United Kingdom 30 years ago. On November 15 the song was certified platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry for sales and streaming figures exceeding 600,000 units.

It is the second platinum certification for the duo. They received platinum certification in 1994 for their chart-topping début album Tease Me, which also feature the hit Murder She Wrote.

“Man, right now that song mek I and I a live comfortable. It’s good to have a good song and good producers. A God mek it happen, and John Public just accepted the song,” Chaka Demus explained.

He told the Observer that at the time the song was recorded he had no idea that it would become the international hit that it became.

“We never know it was going to be that big. Mi know say it was a good song, and one day we were on the road and Junie Starr drove up beside us and told us that the song was mashing up England. We didn’t expect that to happen,” Pliers shared.

Chaka Demus said he never gets tired of performing Murder She Wrote. He also added that the song’s success changed his life forever.

“Financially, the song did great for us. When it comes to popularity, it has gone through different generations of music lovers. Is a great song and we never get tired of performing it,” he stated.

Murder She Wrote, was first released in 1992, the same year that Pliers recorded a cover of Toots Hibbert’s Bam Bam. The song topped local charts and was later picked up by Mango Records, a subsidiary of Island Records.

Murder She Wrote peaked at #27 on the UK Singles chart in early 1994, and it also charted at #72 on the Eurochart Hot 100, #57 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on Billboard’s Rap Songs chart, and at #39 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The duo also charted on the UK Singles charts with She Don’t Let Nobody, Tease Me, Twist and Shout (with Jack Radics and the Taxi Gang), I Wanna Be Your Man, Gal Wine, and Every Kinda People.

Twist and Shout was certified gold in 1994, while the single Tease Me earned gold the previous year. She Don’t Let Nobody was certified silver in 1993.

Chaka Demus and Pliers continue to record and they recently released the song Gold Mine featuring Shaggy for Bonner Production label.

Chaka Demus’s latest solo releases include Flashing Light (Bright Star Production) and Proud Jamaican featuring his son Marvilous One.
Jamaica
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/jamaicaobserver/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/10/5e33bd93154fb5800e831968742577d8.jpg
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2024/12/15/murder-wrote-story/
2024-12-15
rss
Murder She Wrote —
Murder She Wrote — the story