Miss Pat: My Reggae Music Journey

Summary

VP Records co-founder, and one of the reigning matriarchs of Reggae music, Patricia “Miss Pat” Chin, continues to lead the largest independent label and distributor of Caribbean music. Her energetic and engaging autobiography covers her family history, her relationship with her late husband Vincent Chin - and to Jamaica overall - her arrival in New York City in the late 70s, and of course her crucial role in the founding of VP Records. The book is packed with fantastic archival images spanning the emergence of Jamaican music as a cultural force in the 1950s up until today, bringing Miss Pat’s revelatory memoir to life. Perspectives from business people, politicians, and musicians including Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records), Edward Seaga (Former prime minister of Jamaica), singer Marcia Griffiths, and Lee “Scratch” Perry further light up the amazing story of Miss Pat’s life and experiences.

When I started Island Records in Jamaica in 1959, there were no local records being produced other than Calypso, which sold to tourists, or Mento, which was Jamaican ‘folk’ music. I was one of the first to record Jamaican ‘popular’ music as was Eddie Seaga, who later became Prime Minister. I called on many shops that sold music. The best independent shops were operated by the Chinese Jamaicans… Leslie Kong, KG Records at Cross Roads, the Wong family at Wonards and Randy and Pat Chin at Randy’s. The Chins built up a huge business when they moved to NYC and really became the biggest and best distributor in the U.S. of the music that was created in Jamaica.” - Chris Blackwell

The book is presented with dozens of never-before-seen artist and family photos, alongside original illustrations by the late Michael Thompson and book designer Maria Papaefstathio

About the Author

Patricia "Miss Pat" Chin is the dynamic force behind VP Records, the world's largest reggae music label, a person of unmatched energy and enthusiasm. She is the mother of four, grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of three. The last few years, she's focused her passions on "giving back," collaborating with illustrator, Michael Thompson, in the creation of the pop-up exhibit titled "A Reggae Music Journey," on the history of reggae, in cooperation with VP Records.

• FormaT: 212 pages
• Publisher: Gingko Press Inc
• Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs