Murder She Wrote, 30 years later
MURDER She Wrote, the signature hit by Chaka Demus and Pliers, turns 30 years old this year. Released in 1992, it was produced by Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare and Lloyd “Gitsy” Willis.
The song came about five years after Pliers (real name Everton Bonner) first recorded the song for several producers. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer last week, Pliers explained its origin.
“Murder She Wrote came about when I was dating a girl at about di age 19 an’ she told me that she was pregnant. There was no sign of di pregnancy in six months an’ because we were writing about everything at di time, any ideas or experiences we had would be put in our music,” he recalled.
He added, “Di song was first recorded an’ produced by Harry J Records an’ many other producers before I finally recorded it with Chaka Demus at Sonic Sounds studio in 1992. When I recorded it with Chaka Demus, we did it together in di studio an’ we were sharing one mic an’ passing it back and forth. Di studio was unfinished so there was no recording booth at di time. Di vibe was jus’ a normal one and it was jus’ like another day at di studio, trying to survive an’ making a name in di business. Wi never knew what was in store.”
Pliers recorded Murder She Wrote for producer Maurice “Jack Scorpio” Johnson’s Black Scorpio label as well as for producers from the United Kingdom. Those recordings got very little to no promotion but he had confidence in the song.
“I knew it had di potential to be a hit. That’s why I kept trying with it an’ doing it for different producers, hoping for it to take off. Di first time that I recorded it was when I was 19 years old an’ then I did it for Sly, Robbie and Gitsy when I was in my mid-20s. That was when we struck gold,” Pliers shared.
Murder She Wrote was one of two songs Pliers recorded on a revived version of the Bam Bam rhythm; the other was Bam Bam. Both topped the RJR Top 40 and JBC Radio One Top 30 charts.
The song was a game-changer.
“It made us a household name an’ we became popular internationally. It opened every door musically all around di world — from Europe to Asia, North America, an’ universally,” Pliers shared.
Chaka Demus (real name John Taylor) previously scored a chart-topping single with Admiral Bailey called One Scotch (1986). His solo hits include Bad Bad Chaka (1987), produced by King Jammys, and Young Gal Business (1987) which was produced by Skeng Don.
Pliers never tires of performing Murder She Wrote.
“Never….can’t get tired of something that has been a God-given gift that has made us a huge success to this day. We have performed di song in front of 150,000-plus persons in Brazil, an’ of course di song has been sampled by several artistes including Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Pitbull, Teyana Taylor, Drake an’ Omarion.”
The success of Murder She Wrote helped Chaka Demus and Pliers secure a deal with Island Records subsidiary Mango Records. Their album for that label, Tease Me (released in the United States as All She Wrote) produced a record six hit singles on the United Kingdom pop chart.
Murder She Wrote peaked at number 27 in that country, number 72 on the Eurochart Hot 100, number 57 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and number 39 and five on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts, respectively. It has been certified silver in the United Kingdom for sales of 200,000 units.
Tease Me (the single) rose to number three and has been certified gold in the United Kingdom and Australia, while I Wanna Be Your Man peaked at number 19. She Don’t Let Nobody went to number four and has been certified silver in the United Kingdom.
Gal Wine, which has been certified silver, peaked at number 20 on the UK chart, while the album Tease Me spent two weeks on the Official UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum.
Twist and Shout, featuring singer Jack Radics, hit number one and has been certified gold in the United Kingdom and Australia.
In 2007 Chaka Demus and Pliers performed Murder She Wrote alongside Alicia Keys at the American Music Awards. Six years later, they performed the song during the reggae segment at the BET Awards.
