'Godfather of Soca’ Granville Straker, Brooklyn music pioneer, dies at 86
Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Straker came to Brooklyn in the 1960s. He founded Straker's Records in 1971 and operated several record shops across the borough, including locations on Utica, Nostrand and Church avenues.
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Granville Straker, the Brooklyn music producer, businessman and founder of Straker's Records, died Aug. 27. He was 86.
Known as the "Godfather of Soca," Straker helped bring calypso and soca music from the Caribbean to Brooklyn and listeners around the world.
Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Straker came to Brooklyn in the 1960s. He founded Straker's Records in 1971 and operated several record shops across the borough, including locations on Utica, Nostrand and Church avenues.
His children said the Utica Avenue location became the center of his operation and a gathering place for Caribbean immigrants looking for the sounds of home.
"A lot of people gathered here to this record shop to see him and to buy his records," his daughter, Dr. Suzanne Straker Greenidge-Hewitt, said. "We're proud as a family that we had a father like that, that was dedicated to the culture and to the music."
Straker did much more than sell records. His family said he found new talent, brought artists into the studio, helped arrange their music and took part in designing and producing their albums.
Over roughly three decades, his label released hundreds of albums, more than 1,000 12-inch records and thousands of singles.
Straker worked with generations of Caribbean performers. His family said the list included Calypso Rose, The Mighty Shadow, Black Stalin, Chalkdust, Winston Soso, Singing Francine and Machel Montano, among many others.
His work also reached beyond the recording studio. Straker promoted artists during the West Indian American Day Carnival in Brooklyn and helped bring Caribbean performers to larger stages, including Madison Square Garden.
His son Allan Straker said his father wanted Caribbean music to reach far beyond the islands.
"He wanted everyone to hear about Caribbean music, calypso, soca," he said. "He wanted to bring the culture out of the Caribbean and spread it beyond the shores of the Caribbean."
The record shops also became neighborhood gathering places. People stopped by to listen to music, shop or simply sit and talk with Straker.
That connection was clear when longtime neighborhood resident Marie Boursiquot spotted Straker's children outside the former record shop.
"I remember Daddy. I called him Daddy," she told them.
His children quickly responded, "Everybody called him Daddy."
To the music world, Straker was a pioneering producer and businessman. To his children, he was also a devoted father they were proud to share with Brooklyn.
"We were grateful to have him as a father in our life, and we were blessed as a family to share him with the community," Allan Straker said.
Service information
The services are open to those who want to honor Straker:
Viewing and reflections: Friday, Sept. 18, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Funeral service: Saturday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m.
Location: St. Teresa of Avila Church Hall, 563 Sterling Place, Brooklyn
