Songwriters have write stuff

Article by RL

IT WAS A CASE of winner takes all at the songwriting contest which was held at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium recently. With a prize of $10 000 for the Best Written Song, the write stuff was clearly evident.

But when all was said and done a piece called Yours penned by Tricia Squires-Newton and performed by Everdene Smart, came out on top, with a total of 261 points.

The crowd favourite was Overcomer, penned by Dionne Brathwaite-Gibson and well-performed by Cherese Richards, it had the crowd in awe. Ministering to their souls, the lyrics were spellbinding enough to place second with 254 points.

Third place went to 70-year-old Beverley Griffith who wrote the song The Baby Sitter and was sung by seasoned vocalist Tamara Marshall and also featured Kelly Patrick on the saxophone. Say A Prayer written and performed by Arnal Gozzy Goslin placed fourth.

The sizeable crowd supported each of the 12 performers while MC Jennifer Walker kept the audience entertained with her jokes.

Much praise should be given to the backup vocalists and musicians, who did a tremendous job in assisting the singers. Kudos to show producer Mike Cummins for giving the contestants an opportunity to feature their songwriting abilities. (RL)