Founder of Straker’s Records dies at 86

The renowned Vincentian, music producer and pioneering founder of Straker’s Records has died in his adopted home, the USA.

His family announced that Straker, a cultural ambassador and entrepreneur died on August 27, 2026, at the age of 86.

Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), on September 12, 1939, to the late Irena Straker and Clement Straker, Granville Straker became one of the most consequential figures in the production, preservation and international distribution of calypso and Soca music establishing a virtual empire that spanned SVG, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA.

The family said his entrepreneurial involvement in Caribbean music began before the creation of his record label, beginning in Brooklyn in the 1960s and expanding in the 1970s, during which he established record retail outlets serving the growing Caribbean community, including his landmark Straker’s Records location at 242 Utica Avenue in Brooklyn and on Nostrand Avenue.

“These outlets, together with his production and distribution network, helped connect Caribbean artists, recordings and audiences across the region and throughout the diaspora.”

Straker’s Records in Brooklyn, New York, was founded in 1971 “and developed into one of the most important catalogs in Caribbean popular music”.

Over three decades,thereabouts, Straker’s label is said to have lreleased an estimated 600 to 700 albums, more than 1,000 twelve-inch records and several thousand singles.

“Its roster included generations of celebrated artists such as Calypso Rose, The Mighty Shadow, Black Stalin, Chalkdust, Lord Nelson, Lord Melody, Mighty Duke, Explainer, Winston Soso, Singing Francine and Machel Montano, among many others,” the family said in their release.

“Two recordings illustrate the enduring importance of the Straker’s catalog: The Mighty Shadow’s “Bassman,” released by Straker’s Records in the 1970s and now regarded as one of Shadow’s signature recordings; and Black Stalin’s “Ah Feel to Party,” which later gave its name to the acclaimed retrospective collection The Best of Straker’s: Ah Feel to Party.”

Straker received the Martin’s International/Inter-Culture Award of Honour, presented at the 2009 International Reggae & World Music Awards, and in 2014, he was honoured in Brooklyn for “Excellence in Worldwide Music Production over the Years,” said to be in recognition of his decades of work on behalf of Caribbean artists and culture.

“He served at various times as a producer, promoter, talent scout, distributor, businessman and cultural visionary, travelling throughout the Caribbean in search of emerging talent and giving artists access to professional recording and international distribution,” the family release stated, noting that his Brooklyn businesses became gathering places for Caribbean immigrants seeking the music and culture of home.

“A defining creative partnership began in 1978” when he teamed with music maestro, Vincentian musician and arranger Frankie McIntosh who joined Straker’s Records as musical director.

“Together, Straker and McIntosh helped shape a sophisticated Brooklyn-based calypso and Soca sound whose influence extended throughout the Caribbean and its diaspora.”

His family said Granville Straker was much more than a pioneering figure in music, “He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, relative, mentor and friend whose determination, entrepreneurial spirit and devotion to Caribbean culture shaped generations around him”. Straker is survived by his second wife of 24 years, Beverly Straker, along with children seven children and their spouses along with several grand children and others in his extended family and a network of musicians, artists, colleagues “…and an international Caribbean community whose lives and culture were touched by his work”.

The family will announce funeral and memorial arrangements.