A LEGENDARY chutney singer whose musical exploits have put Guyana on the entertainment map is back on the local shores for a week of massive birthday celebrations.
Joyce Ormela Harris used to be very popular in Guyana in the 1970s. The first record she released during this time, ‘Taxi Driver’, earned her a lot of fame.

The song depicted the life of her husband, whose personality changed when he became a taxi driver. Harris told a bit of the story when she visited the Chronicle last Wednesday.
Her husband did not have a car when they got married. Soon after the car came along, though, she noticed a change in his attitude. She couldn’t help but express herself in song.
She had no idea it would bring her the resounding fame and popularity that ensued.
Where did this still feisty momma originate? Joyce grew up in Good Hope, Canal Number One, on the West Bank Demerara, but moved to Mon Repos, on the East Coast after getting married.
She took up residence in the United States in 1990, and presently lives in New York, but would visit from time to time to share in Guyana’s celebrations. She is here to celebrate her 65th birthday, and still basks in the glory of defying Mother Nature’s debilitating effects.
Joyce prefers to write her own songs. “I don’t like to sing back people’s songs; (for me) it’s original all the time,” she said in her customary no-nonsense manner. She strives to appeal to a wide audience, and thus sings chutney, soca, calypso, gospel, bhajans and qaseedas.
Her love for this type of career was developed from early childhood, when she sang in school and in church. Her interest grew in her teenage years, and she made it a point of participating whenever the country celebrated Mashramani or Diwali among other national or cultural events.
Besides singing to mark certain celebrations, Joyce likes to sing about anything that happens in her life. “I sing it out in a song; all my songs carry a story,” she said.
Presently, she performs in Guyana, Canada, Florida, Minnesota, and New York. “They named me the legendary Creole Chutney Queen of Guyana,” she said, as she related how everything she’s achieved in life thus far came by means of her voice.
“Singing gave me everything that I own in my life; I got everything through my voice. This was my profession, no matter what work I do. I feel when I sing, I make people happy; and when I make them happy, I am so happy. Even if I’m sick, I sing. Singing makes me happy,” a deliriously happy Joyce said.
Her parents were great singers themselves, and that is partly responsible for her interest in singing, she said. Her son, Vishal Lopes-Harris, was her only offspring who followed in her footsteps and had taken up a career in music. Sadly, he died in an accident in 2000.
She has three other children, the eldest of whom is 48. She has since remarried, and now has ten grandchildren.
Joyce has just recently released a new CD with 14 songs in tribute to her deceased son, and that CD will be available at Full Range Record Bar.
Mrs. Harris plans to complete a good number of new CDs. “I want to do albums, so, if I die tonight or tomorrow, everyone must hear my voice; all types of people can enjoy my music and remember me,” she said.
Joyce knows exactly how to please her fans when she is performing. “I just look at the crowd and know what to give to them. Even if people don’t want to get up and dance, they would. I can fit into anything,” she says.
She spoke of her great love for her Guyanese fans, noting that this is why she would come to visit the country so often. “I love Guyana; this is where I came from. And I like to be happy among my fans here, because they supported me a lot in the early stages of my career.”