Three months ago, Robert Livingston was asked by World Music Views whether he would want Jamaica’s Order of Distinction for his contribution to the music industry.
The veteran producer, who is the only Jamaican producer to helm a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 replied:
“I never thought about it.”
On Jamaica’s 64th Independence Day, Livingston was announced among five entertainment figures to be conferred with the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) at this year’s National Honours and Awards, an acknowledgement that places official state recognition alongside a career already validated by the global marketplace.
“Its a great achievement,” Livingston told World Music Views following the announcement on Thursday August 6. “And for your country to recognize you for the work you do over the years, its a good feeling. It will motivate others.”
He will be honoured alongside pioneering ska singer Stranger Cole, veteran music executive Michael Anthony Bennett, reggae and dancehall artiste Clifford ‘Mr Vegas’ Smith, and acclaimed guitarist and producer Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, all recognised with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer for their contributions to Jamaica’s music industry.
Four additional entertainment practitioners will receive the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service: Herman Constantine ‘Bongo’ Davis for his contribution to Jamaican music and culture; Shirley Deloris Findley-Willis for her contribution to gospel music; Lawrence Anthony ‘Dundas’ McDonald for service to the field of entertainment; and Carlyle Palmer for his role in expanding Jamaican music in the United Kingdom through Jet Star Music. The recipients will be invested at the annual National Honours and Awards Ceremony at King’s House on National Heroes Day.
For Livingston, the honour comes after decades in which his fingerprints have been found on platinum-selling projects and chart-topping records, working with acts like Super Cat and Shaggy, yet his name has often remained less familiar than the artists he helped elevate.
During a wide-ranging interview with World Music Views three months ago, the subject of the OD came up and the record impresario who has sold more records that any other Jamaican producer this century including 12 million copies of Shaggy’s hot Shot, reflected on the curious distance between international success and domestic recognition.
“I can tell you the truth. I get recognition from Jamaican people in maybe the streets, but I don’t know if the official recognised me like that. And maybe a lot of things, I maybe should have been more pushy for them to know who I am and what I did, but I am not like… I don’t push for that.”
When told during the interview, “Well, they’ll see it now. They’ll definitely see it now,” Livingston’s answer remained almost indifferent to the prospect at the time.
“Yeah, so I mean, if it happened, it happened. I didn’t do this for an award or anything.”
Instead, he described a philosophy rooted less in accolades than in craftsmanship.
“I do this because if I’m laying tiles, I want it to look the best. Anything that I’m doing, I put my mind to it good, even if I’m not getting paid for it. It’s a part of what I do. It’s a commitment from the mind and the soul and the body. You have to commit. I come in here to do this interview, I have to commit.”
