The death of Donald “Tabby Diamond” Shaw aged 67 in a drive-by shooting brings a terribly tragic end to one of reggae’s most enduring and revered harmony trios. No word has yet emerged about who was behind the attack that killed Shaw and another man on the night of 29 March on McKinley Crescent, Waterhouse, an area of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, long riven by factional violence.
Equally adept at songs of social commentary and odes of broken-hearted romance, the Mighty Diamonds’ exceptional command of vocal harmony made their sound stand out during the mid-1970s, yielding a contract with Virgin Records and numerous international tours. Tabby’s powerful tenor was always given pride of place, a guiding beacon answered by the choruses of Fitzroy “Bunny” Simpson and Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson, the latter the group’s chief lyricist.
