Brooklyn pastor eulogises 'Godfather of Soca Music' Granville Straker
The Vincentian-born founder of Straker's Records, whose label released hundreds of albums by calypso and soca greats, was remembered at a service in Brooklyn.
NEW YORK, United States. The life of Vincentian-born Granville Leonard Straker, founder of Brooklyn-based Straker's Records and known as the "Godfather of Soca Music", was celebrated at a funeral service in Brooklyn on September 20.
His cousin, Pastor Louis Straker Jr., lead pastor of Reflections Church on Utica Avenue, presided over the service at St Teresa of Avila Church Hall and delivered a eulogy titled "Straker's Record".
The pastor, son of former St Vincent and the Grenadines Deputy Prime Minister Sir Louis Straker, who was among the mourners, recalled the artists whose careers Straker helped, including Chalkdust, The Mighty Shadow, The Black Stalin, Calypso Rose and Lord Shorty.
"The Master didn't give Granville Straker music so he could become famous. He gave Granville Straker influence so Caribbean music could become known to the world," he said.
"He connected St Vincent, Brooklyn, Trinidad, America, the Caribbean, the Diaspora, artists, audiences, studios, record stores, concert halls, you name it!"
A catalogue of 600 to 700 albums
Born on September 12, 1939, Straker came to the United States in 1959 and worked as a mechanic before becoming more involved in music, the pastor said.
His family said he opened record shops in Brooklyn in the 1960s and 1970s, including his landmark store at 242 Utica Avenue, with further outlets in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. He founded Straker's Records in 1971.
Over about three decades, the label released an estimated 600 to 700 albums, more than 1,000 12-inch records and several thousand singles, including The Mighty Shadow's "Bassman" and Black Stalin's "Ah Feel to Party".
In 1978, fellow Vincentian musician and arranger Frankie McIntosh, who played piano at the service, joined the label as musical director, leading the studio band The Equitables.
Tributes
His daughter, Dr Suzanne Straker Greenidge-Hewitt, said her father had seven children. "You gave each of your seven children something different. But you gave all of us the same foundation," she said.
Claude Taitt, a Guyanese-born former broadcaster on New York's WLIB, said: "He was not only a businessman, he was a gentleman." Grenadian-born promoter Derek Ventour said Straker's "contribution to Caribbean music and culture will never be forgotten".
Straker was predeceased by his first wife, Jean "Patsy" Straker Jackson, and is survived by his wife of 24 years, Beverly Straker, his children and grandchildren.
