Born 78 Years Ago Today in Jamaica, the Disco Icon Who Sold 150 Million Records With a Group Whose Biggest Hit Was Banned in the Soviet Union

On this day (October 14) in 1948, Marcia Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica. She rose to global fame in 1975 as the lead singer of Boney M., the West German disco phenomenon that incorporated reggae and funk elements into late-1970s staples like “Rasputin” and “Rivers of Babylon”. Following the group’s split in 1990, Barrett continued recording and touring as a solo artist, twice battling cancer in the ’90s and early 2000s.

Who Was Marcia Barrett?

Emigrating to England at age 13, Marcia Barrett found herself drawn to the music of Dusty Springfield, Jimi Hendrix and Shirley Bassey. In the late 1960s, she moved to Germany after accepting a dancing contract.

In Germany, Barrett toured with iconic Czech singer Karel Gott and German balladeer Rex Gildo before signing with Metronome Records in 1971. She recorded her first original song, “Could Be Love”, while continuing to tour as a solo act, performing Top 40 covers like Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Big Spender.”

Joining Boney M.

In 1974, German singer-songwriter Frank Farian — who later founded the pop band Milli Vanilli — recorded the dance track “Baby Do You Wanna Bump” under the pseudonym Boney M.

When the song became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, Farian decided to put together a group of models and dancers who could perform the track for discothèque and television appearances. He hired four West Indian vocalists who had been working as session singers in Germany — Marcia Barrett, Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams, and Bobby Farrell. 

With Barrett on board, Boney M. fever swept the globe. She shared lead vocals with Williams on the top 10 hits  “Daddy Cool”, “Ma Baker”, “Rasputin” and “Gotta Go Home”, and took the lead on the German chart-topper “Belfast”.

The band’s signature song, “Rasputin”, enjoyed immense popularity in the Soviet Union despite officials’ attempts to ban it.

Solo Career

When Boney M. went their separate ways in 1990, Marcia Barrett pursued a solo career. She has released two solo albums, Survival (1999) and Come Into My Life (2005). The latter included a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe”, a new version of “Belfast”, and a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s instrumental “Albatross”, to which Barrett added her own lyrics with the blessing of composer Peter Green.

Although her solo career has been twice derailed by separate bouts with cancer, Barrett founded her own label,  Xoah Records, in 2009.

She also toured with her own version of Boney M., which made headlines in October 2007 when President Mikheil Saakashvili invited them to perform in South Ossetia in the country of Georgia.

[RELATED: Disco Fever: 7 Essential Disco Hits That Dominated the Dance Floors]

A staunch opponent of U.S. military intervention in Iraq, Barrett released the 2003 benefit EP “No War! Peace and Love.” Proceeds went to the War Child charity.

Featured image by Soxphotos/Getty Images