Benjy Myaz recalls the making of reggae hit Love You Higher

Jamaican singer Benjy Myaz has shared how his reggae hit Love You Higher came together, tracing the song’s roots to Randy Crawford’s 1986 recording Higher Than Anyone Can Count and his own decision, about a decade later, to reshape it for Jamaican audiences.

Myaz said Crawford’s original stayed with him for years because of its melody and its presence in dances and on radio. He said he had long admired the song and eventually chose to give it a reggae treatment with his own voice.

He also acknowledged that the cover was done without prior permission. According to Myaz, the original writer later challenged him about it, leading to a discussion about why he had recorded the track. He said the song was not cleared, and the version had to be shortened. At the time, he noted, music was being pressed on 45 records rather than distributed on CDs or MP3s.

The title Love You Higher was chosen because he felt Crawford’s original title was difficult for many listeners to remember, even though they knew the song itself.

Myaz said he arranged and produced the track himself. It was recorded at 93 East Records, a studio space he operated with Trevor Bailey at 93 East Street. He said the song had been mixed for a full year before it was released, and that he played it repeatedly in his vehicle until he felt the timing was right.

Among his strongest memories of the song are performing it at Dennis Brown and Friends, where he introduced himself to an audience that already knew the record from radio, and later sharing the stage with Randy Crawford at the Prime Minister’s Gala at Jamaica House in 2000. That performance, arranged through the Prime Minister’s Office, became a duet, with Myaz entering on the second verse.