Legendary Guyanese-born, musician, Eddy Grant, who was recently conferred Doctor of Letters for Excellency, in music by Professor Eon Harris at the University of Guyana, on Wednesday wowed the hugely popular “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,”,while performing his platinum single, “Electric Avenue.”
The rocker got the audience on its feet as he belted out “Jimmy, we are gonna rock-down to electric Avenue and then we’ll take it higher” singing the lyrics at the top of his lungs during a pulsating five-minute performance.
The 71-year-old, singer, producer, songwriter, who was accompanied by the musical band, “The Roots,” was promoting his long-awaited album, an ode to the village in Guyana where he was born.
Fallon, in his energetic style, while introducing the musician, shouted, “from his latest album, ‘Plaisance,’ available on eddie
Grant, a founding member of “The Equals,” one of the United Kingdom’s first racially integrated pop groups, then took to the stage decked out in a black Tee, blue jeans, open front shirt, and signature Rastafarian hat, and danced like the 19-year-old, he recently said he felt like.
The exceptionally talented country boy, who recently received a lifetime achievement award from the government of Guyana, is being called upon by a cross-section of Guyanese diaspora in New York, to headline a “One Guyana” concert.
However, to date, the only event the “Gimme Me Hope Jo’anna” singer will be attending is the culmination of the Dr. Mary Umolu – Medgar Evers College Jazzy Jazz Festival 2019, on Aug. 30.
Grant who has enjoyed an illustrious solo career, with breakout hits “Killer On The Rampage,” “Walking On Sunshine” and “Paintings of the Soul,” “Mind the Gap,” “Now We’re All Together,” “I’m The One” and “True to You” — an up-beat lyrical composition that tells the story of the singer’s upbringing in Guyana. The video for cut, “True to You,” from his current album “Plaisance,” showcases various historic sites, including the majestic Kaieteur Falls.
The multitalented, Grant, who began his career in England,and then spent many of his years living and recording at his studio in Barbados, is loved by his Guyanese brothers and sisters, many who tuned-in from across the world to see him perform live on NBC New York television.
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