SKA – Heather Augustyn

When I heard the news on NPR this morning that Paul Allen had died, my mind immediately went to Sister Ignatius. I had long heard rumors that Allen, co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates and billionaire businessman and philanthropist, purchased Sister Ignatius’s record collection and so I inquired and confirmed this fact in December 2015 with the director of curatorial affairs for the Experience Music Project, the museum that Allen founded in Seattle. Today the museum is called the Museum of Pop Culture and one year after it opened in 2000 it housed an exhibit called, “Island Revolution: Jamaican Rhythm From Ska To Reggae, 1956-1981.” It was then, for this exhibit and for their permanent vaults, that the museum purchased a number of artifacts from Alpha Boys’ School, including instruments (one of Don Drummond’s trombones), the iconic Alpha sign (which was loaned out to the Jamaica! Jamaica! exhibit in Paris in 2017), and Sister Ignatius’s own turntable.

But it is Sister Ignatius’s record collection that is in Allen’s private collection. These are the records that Iggy used to instruct the boys, shaping their musical education by illustrating the sounds of all genres of music. Here is an excerpt from my chapter on Sister Ignatius in Alpha Boys’ School: Cradle of Jamaican Music that illustrates how important this record collection was to her boys:

“It was because of her passion for all kinds of music that the band program prospered. It is quite a sight to imagine ‘Bones’ in her full habit, spinning records at a DJs turntables, music pumping from the huge speakers for the boys who danced to the hits, but that’s exactly what Sister Ignatius did on many occasions at Alpha Boys School. Sparrow Martin recalls his days as a student when they all listened to her tunes. ‘So she would come on Saturdays and she would have a whole lot of record, you name it, classical, jazz record, pop record, all kind, Latin, American, European music, Cuban music, and mento music, and she would say, “Okay today we are going to listen to classical music,” and she would take out Beethoven, Bach, and she says, especially to the band boys, “Listen to your classical music.” Then she’d say, “Okay, I’m going to play jazz for you today,” and she’d play jazz music. Then she’d play Cuban music. Now we don’t speak Spanish but she would take Spanish music from Cuba and she’d say, “Listen to the drums, listen to the bass, listen to how they play saxophone.” She would sit down with you so you have the interest,’ says Martin … Tony Greene remembers her spinning records for the boys and said she had a fine ear for popular music. ‘She know everything that was going on outside on the street. She could tell you what song was number one what song was number two, anywhere in the world. She used to amaze us! We’d say, “How she know that? How she interested in that?”‘

So what will happen to Sister Ignatius’s record collection? One would assume that it will become part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Pop Culture, but this is likely a matter for the lawyers and estates. I do know that I asked the curator of the museum to donate the Alpha Sign back to Alpha Institute or to the Jamaica Museum Museum since it is part of Jamaica’s cultural and historical heritage and is not even on display in Seattle and sitting in the vaults. I was told that it is available for loan, if the institutions in Jamaica wanted to borrow it. Though I know that Sister Ignatius had the best intentions of her boys at heart, selling these items to acquire essential funds for the school that have deeply benefited the education and care and well being of these children who now will go on to lead productive and healthy lives, thanks to this sale; I still cannot help but feel that it is somehow wrong for a wealthy American businessman to essentially exploit and harvest the fruits of the rich cultural heritage of Jamaica. If the items were on display (and I know that a large percentage of museums have their valuable collections in vaults and not on display), that might be different since the public would be able to view, enjoy, learn from, and be inspired by these artifacts. But when they are in storage, and worse yet, in a private collection, that just feels like the spoils of wealth. I don’t doubt for a second that Paul Allen deeply loved and cherished these records and that he was a worthy vanguard but this seems different than just a record collection–these are historical artifacts.

What are your thoughts?

***

Here is some more information on Paul Allen:

According to Business Insider, May 21, 2015, Paul Allen’s $200 million superyacht named “Octopus” has plenty of amenities, including a glass bottom swimming pool, basketball court, movie theater, two submarines, and two helicopter landing pads. Also notable though is that “Mick Jagger has used the recording studio onboard. A longtime fan of rock and roll — he built an entire museum dedicated to Jimi Hendrix memorabilia — Allen reportedly lent Octopus’ recording studio to Mick Jagger when he was recording an album with SuperHeavy in 2011. Usher, Dave Stewart, U2, and Johnny Cash have all reportedly performed onboard Octopus.”

According to Reuters, April 30, 2013, the following is a shortlist of Allen’s involvement in various sectors of business and philanthropy:

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft – Co-founders Allen and Bill Gates started off with a 64/36 partnership. Allen’s share was worth about $30 billion at the company’s zenith in 1999-2000. He now has only a small stake.

Asymetrix/Starwave/Metricom – his first projects after leaving Microsoft in 1983 never lived up to expectations.

Interval Research – Allen set up his own idea lab in 1992, but it was too unfocused to bring its ideas to life. He shut it down in 2000.

America Online – Allen dumped his 24.9 percent stake in 1994 for a $75 million profit. Those shares would have been worth more than $40 billion at the height of the tech stock bubble.

Charter Communications – Allen calculates he lost $8 billion on cable firms Charter and RCN in an unsuccessful attempt to buy into the internet delivery business.

Wireless Spectrum – Allen’s advisers say he has made a “very large profit” investing in wireless and telecom tower infrastructure.

ENERGY/RAW MATERIALS

Vulcan Energy Corp – a unit of Vulcan Capital, invested $200 million in Plains All American Pipeline several years ago, and says it has generated $2.25 billion in returns.

ENTERTAINMENT

DreamWorks SKG – Allen invested about $700 million in the movie studio in the 1990s, eventually doubling his money.

REAL ESTATE

Seattle’s South Lake Union (SLU) – Allen has made a massive profit from renovating this dilapidated commercial area, boosted by the growth of Amazon.com

SPORTS

Portland Trail Blazers – The basketball franchise Allen bought for $65 million in 1988 is now value at $457 million.

Seattle Seahawks – Allen bought his hometown football team for $194 million in 1997. It is now valued at more than $1 billion.

Seattle Sounders – Allen is part of the ownership group of Major League Soccer’s best supported team.

CULTURAL

EMP Museum – Pop/rock music museum in Seattle inspired by Jimi Hendrix and housed in swirling Frank Gehry-designed structure costing $250 million.

PHILANTHROPY/SCIENCE

Allen Institute for Brain Science – inspired by watching his late mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, Allen has invested $500 million in this research institute.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation – Run together with his sister Jody, the main arm of Allen’s philanthropic activities focuses on the Pacific Northwest.

Universities – Allen has given millions of dollars to the University of Washington and his alma mater Washington State University, chiefly for libraries, medical and science research.

Allen puts his total giving at more than $1.5 billion.

AEROSPACE

SpaceShipOne – An Allen-funded team won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize in 2004 by sending the first privately built manned rocket into space.

Stratolaunch Systems – Allen set up this new company to ferry people and cargo into space. First flight of the launch aircraft is slated for 2016.

Laurel Aitken

The Lost Photos of Laurel Aitken

September 23, 2018February 27, 2023 haugustyn

In 1998 I had the pleasure of seeing Laurel Aitken perform live at Subterranean in Chicago. I took a bunch of photos at the time using film! Yes, that’s right kids, film–a strip of transparent plastic film base coated on one side with an emulsion of silver halide crystals that, when exposed to light, produce a photographic image. I had them developed at Triangle Photo on North Broadway, may it rest in peace, and though I used one of these photos for a book, the others I threw into a shoe box where they languished from move to move and basement to basement for years. Until this past week. I have uncovered a treasure fit for archeologists of pharaohs. Okay, well maybe I’m getting a little carried away here, but suffice to say that I was excited to find these relics–partly because they were nostalgic for me as I remembered seeing this legendary vocalist up close and personal (along with New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, which was also worthy of attendance at this show), but also because Mr. Aitken has now passed away, some 13 years ago, which is hard to believe. To celebrate the life of this unsung pioneer, I am posting these photos here (admittedly they are not great, but they are an historical record, not a display of artistic ability!) along with an article from The Beat magazine in 2005 written by Grant Thayer.

From The Beat Magazine:

Passings: Laurel Aitken 1927-2005

Ska performer Laurel Aitken died on July 17, 2005, at age 78. The singer’s career is profiled.

Laurel Aitken, known as the ‘Godfather of Ska,’ died of a heart attack in England on July 17 at the age of 78. Grant Thayer, who worked with the seminal singer, offers this tribute to Aitken.

When you meet a living legend, you always will cherish that memory. When you get to work and travel with a legend, your life will change. When the Godfather of Ska jumped the pong to tour the U.S. and Canada in July 1999 for a month and a half, I was lucky enough to be a part of that cross-country journey which altered my life forever.

Laurel Aitken ws born Oliver Stephens in Cuba on April 22, 1927 and moved with his family in 1938 to his father’s homeland of Jamaica. They settled in West Kingston, a working-class area where Laurel’s love of music continued to flourish. Jamaica’s music was evolving from calypso and mento to include new influences fro American r&b and jazz. Those elements were made accessible to the island community thanks to the influx of both American records as well as American radio broadcasts hitting Jamaica’s shores.

Boats laden with foreigners arriving in Kingston would encounter a young Aitken singing jazz (Gershwin’s ‘Embraceable You,’ ‘Blue Moon’) and neighboring islands’ calypso songs. The adolescent’s voice and his unmistakable smile garnered the attention of the members of the Jamaican Tourist Board, who recognized his talents and hired him to entertain tourists.

His status grew as he won several talent competitions in the 1950s. Shortly after, his first recording effort, ‘Roll Jordan Roll’ on Stanley Motta’s Caribou Records, was a hit in Jamaica. This led to many followup sessions during that decade, which also included, ‘I Met a Senorita,’ ‘Aitken’s Boogie’ and ‘Nightfall in Zion.’ His early efforts for Caribou brought recognition from other producers (Leslie Kong, Duke Reid) who then captured his music.

In 1959, a young Chris Blackwell approached Laurel about recording for a record label he was starting which resulted in Island Records’ first release, a double A-side with ‘Boogie in My Bones’ and ‘Little Sheila.’ The song remained number one for 11 weeks, the very first Jamaican radio hit. With the growing Jamaican immigrant population in the U.K. (which had been steadily increasing since the post-World War II labor shortage), Blackwell’s Jamaican label licensed the single to Starlight Records in England, the very first Jamaican single ever released in the U.K. That single started a steady musical influx from the island that blossomed in Britain in the 1960s. That musical foundation led to the Two Tone ska revival of the late 1970s bringing the world the likes of the Specials, the (English) Beat, Madness, Bad Manners, Selecter and many more.

In 1960s, Laurel emigrated to England to focus his recording efforts with Melodisc and Blue Beat, the latter becoming pseudonymous with the style of music. In fact, his ‘Boogie Rock’ would be the initial release for the Blue Beat label. Once again Laurel Aitken was a pioneer in the music industry. In 1963, Laurel returned to Jamaica and recorded singles (many backed by the Skatalites) for different producers (Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, King Edwards) including ‘Bad Minded Woman,’ ‘Zion City Wall’ and ‘Sweet Jamaica.’ Laurel’s popularity soared within the immigrant community while bringing in the young white English skinheads and mods, who shared those working class roots.

The ’60s were his most prolific era, with well over 100 singles released on various labels. Laurel’s involvement with many different labels (often simultaneously) demonstrates his dedication to promoting his music and his career. He would use his past accolades as footing for the next step in his musical journey. ‘Sugar Sugar’ for Coxon Dodd in 1965, ‘Fire in My Wire,’ ‘Jesse James’ and ‘Skinhead Train’ (all in 1969) would be some of this most recognizable anthems.

In the 1970s, Laurel continued his output of material, but the world’s appreciation of Jamaican music had shifted to the new phenomenon of reggae, as championed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. He helped bring over another blossoming star from Jamaica who had also recorded for Island Records, but was at a musical crossroads. Jimmy Cliff would then go on to fame and fortune via The Harder They Come, and thanks to the support from Laurel.

Laurel’s musical genius would continue to steer emerging bands: The English Beat paid homage with their ‘Ranking Full Stop,’ a remake of Laurel’s 1969 song ‘Pussy Price.’ Meanwhile, the Specials released ‘A Message to You Rudi’ in 1979, which would be answered by the Godfather’s ‘Rudi Got Married’ in 1980, keeping Laurel in tune with the musical happenings. Laurel continued to record and in 1985 ‘Sally Brown’ and ‘Mad About You’ were recorded by Gaz Mayall’s label in London, again thrusting ‘El Bosso’ into a new generation of fans.

Laurel was a legend in the Jamaican music industry, but unfortunately, for the mainstream he did not show up in the headlines, but only the footnotes. I was lucky enough to be with him as tour manager for six weeks in 1999, a tour I will always cherish. I got to hear first-hand accounts about the people who shaped the music I love. I looked forward to watching his set every night, and saw his talent and charisma in action. We remained good friends after that tour, talking regularly and visiting when our schedules permitted.

I would like to share one story from that tour which epitomizes how this legend lived in a world oblivious to his contributions. We had the pleasure of going to see Jimmy Cliff at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on a day off. Laurel waited in the crowd, near the VIP area while I tried to find someone to ‘recognize’ his status and allow this legend to enter the reserved area to enjoy the show in luxury. Meanwhile, Laurel had befriended the woman guarding the roped-off VIP section. When I returned, he was already comfortably seated in the balcony overlooking the stage, exactly where he deserved to be. I leaned in to the security guard to thank her for letting him sit there, and she told me: ‘It is No Doubt’s table–if they show up, he has to leave!’

While his writing and recorded songs were appreciated by the fans, he never was able to achieve the commercial recognition he deserved not only as an early pioneer of ska, but also as an innovator and ambassador of Jamaican music. He truly is the Godfather of Ska, and without him, we can only wonder if No Doubt would even be around today.

Here is another article on Laurel Aitken–his obituary from The Telegraph, July 22, 2005:

Laurel Aitken, who died on Sunday aged 78, was often known as “The Godfather of Ska” and was a key figure in the development of Jamaican music from the form of calypso known as “mento” through to reggae.

Aitken was a particular favourite of the British white skinheads who embraced ska, a variant of boogie and American R’n’B with a strongly accented upbeat, which also shaped the mod, rudeboy and two-tone movements; bands such as the Specials, Bad Manners and Madness drew much of their inspiration from the style.

Ska had developed from the sound systems which dominated Jamaican popular music from the mid-1950s, replacing dance bands. They were often set up outside bars and liquor stores, and increasingly competed in volume and strength – 30,000 watt bass speakers were not unknown.

The brand of New Orleans boogie and R’n’B they played was soon emulated by live bands, but with the guitar part often stressed on the upbeat in imitation of the banjo line in mento. Over this background, the lyrics initially concentrated on producing a feelgood, party atmosphere, but gradually gave way, with the rise of reggae and the Ras Tafari movement, to nationalist and religious themes.

Lorenzo Aitken was born of mixed Cuban and Jamaican ancestry on April 22 1927 in Cuba, one of six children (his brother was the singer and guitarist Bobby Aitken). The family emigrated to Jamaica, his father’s homeland, in 1938 and young Laurel was singing calypso for tourists by the mid-1940s, often for the Jamaican Tourist Board.

At 15, he entered a talent contest at Kingston’s Ambassador Theatre and began his career singing at clubs around the capital. His first records, Roll, Jordan, Roll and Boogie Rock, appeared on the Caribbean Recording Company owned by Stanley Motta, a garage owner and electrical supplier, and were later reissued by the Kalypso label; they showed the influence of shuffle and boogie on traditional mento.

In 1958 he scored his first great hit with Boogie in My Bones and Little Sheila, a double A-side produced by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records (it was later to be the label’s first release in Britain). Aitken and Blackwell were the only Jamaican elements of the record, though; the backing was provided by a group of white Canadian session musicians.

Even so, it was Number One in the Jamaican hit parade for 11 weeks and stayed in the charts for more than a year.

He followed them up with a number of other hits, and appeared regularly at the Glass Bucket Club and before sound systems, but in 1960 decided to join the growing exodus of Jamaicans for Britain. There he “flew the Blue Beat flag” with a number of recordings for that record label, which dealt exclusively in Jamaican music for a British audience.

Aitken was industrious during the 1960s, releasing more than two dozen records on the Rio label alone, as well as working for Ska Beat and Dice, and writing for artists on the Nu Beat Label (which paid his child support money after Rio went bust). He moved, too, from his own party numbers to more reggae-tinged songs, such as Haile Selassie, Woppi King and Fire in Me Wire. His lament for the increasing cost of prostitutes, Pussy Price, was later rewritten by the English Beat as Ranking Full Stop. He attracted an increasing audience amongst young white skinheads: Skinhead Train was specifically aimed at this fanbase.

But with the rise of rocksteady and then of pure reggae in the 1970s, and particularly with Bob Marley’s domination of Jamaican music, Aitken’s style began to look increasingly old-fashioned. He faded from view, stopped recording, and was reduced to moving to Leicester.

But he never entirely abandoned performance, and could still draw audiences of enthusiasts. When the two-tone revival of the late 1970s began, Aitken, along with Prince Buster, was revered as a pioneer, and he recorded Rudi Got Married, which became, in 1981, his only British chart hit. He began touring again during the 1980s and appeared with David Bowie in Absolute Beginners, an appalling film of Colin MacInnes’s novel, in 1986.

UB40 covered his Guilty, which he had released under the pseudonym Tiger in 1969, on their album Labour of Love. Live at Club Ska was released last year, but Aitken can be heard to best advantage on the Reggae Retro release The Pioneer of Jamaican Music, which includes such rarities as Nebuchanezzar, Aitken’s Boogie and Baba Kill Me Goat.

Here is the announcement of that Chicago show from the Chicago Reader, August 6, 1998:

LAUREL AITKEN/NEW YORK SKA-JAZZ ENSEMBLE

By J.R. Jones

A hero from ska’s illustrious past and an enticing prospect for its future share the stage this week when 71-year-old Laurel Aitken rolls through town with the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble. The Cuban-born Aitken, who immigrated to Jamaica as a child in 1938, is rightly known as the godfather of ska: in 1958 his hit single “Boogie in My Bones”/”Little Sheila” established the now famous Island label. In retrospect the two tunes together composed a crude recipe for ska; “Boogie,” with its whorehouse baritone sax, grooved like American R & B, while “Sheila” revealed Aitken’s Latin roots. But as the genre evolved in Jamaica, Aitken moved on to England, where he pioneered the ska variant dubbed “blue beat,” setting the stage for the 2-Tone movement of the late 70s. The Blue Beat Years (Moon Ska), a 1995 collection of remade classics, finds Aitken’s warm, bluesy voice still in remarkable shape. Aitken’s backup band on this tour, the superb New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, opens the show with a set of its own; formed in 1994 by members of the Toasters, the Skatalites, and the Scofflaws, the six-man outfit follows ska’s roots in swing out into the harmonic space of modern jazz. Its debut recording adapted Monk and Mingus, and its new release, Get This! (Moon Ska), includes a rendition of Horace Silver’s “Filthy McNasty” and a gently syncopated version of Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo.” The ensemble also dabbles in soul (a skanking cover of the Aretha Franklin hit “See Saw”), jump (saxophonist Freddie Reiter’s “Arachnid”), and salsa (trombonist Rick Faulkner’s “Morningside”), and should have no trouble adapting to Aitken’s vintage material. Wednesday, 10 PM, Subterranean Cafe & Cabaret, 2011 W. North; 773-278-6600. J.R. JONES

And finally, a link to a blog post I wrote a few years back on Laurel Aitken’s Sally Brown:

Skatalites

Skatalites’ Tragic Show

March 31, 2018February 26, 2023 haugustyn

I was combing through some copies of Star Newspapers that I had made a few years back at the library in Kingston, and lo and behold, I found an advertisement from December 28, 1964 for the Skatalites’ show that ended in tragedy–Don Drummond murdering his girlfriend, the Rhumba Queen, Margarita (Anita Mahfood).

On the same page appears an advertisement for a show the night before, New Year’s Eve:

Just to be clear, the dancer in this advertisement above is not Margarita–it is Princess Zandra, who was also a popular rhumba and floor show entertainer. Rhumba dancers were a draw for many live bands during this time, so Zandra was a popular performer, as was Margarita, Madame Wasp, and others.

If you wish to read more on the murder of Margarita at the hands of Don Drummond, you can read my book, Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World’s Greatest Trombonist, or if you want a quicker read, you can click this link to my blog post on the topic:

http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/2015/08/don-drummond-and-the-murder-of-margarita/

Here is a close up of the two Skatalites logos on this advertisements, which I think are super cool:

You can see the names of the members (though a few are spelled incorrectly) clockwise from left, Lloyd Brevett, Dizzy Johnny Moore, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Lord Tanamo, Lester Sterling, Harold McKenzie, Lloyd Knibb, and Don Drummond.

Prince and Jamaica and Ska

April 22, 2016February 27, 2023 haugustyn

You might think that the only Prince popular in Jamaica is Prince Buster or maybe Prince Count Miller or Prince Jazzbo. However, THE Prince, the artist-once-again-no-longer-formerly-known-as Prince, the recently deceased Prince, was also popular in Jamaica, as he was all over the world. Countless Jamaican artists have included Prince songs in their live concerts, and the Jamaican press has followed Prince’s career throughout the decades, including his induction in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his Grammy Awards, his perfume for women, and other events and news.

Kingston movie houses screened Prince’s movie “Purple Rain” when it first came out and then periodically over the years that followed.

One of many advertisements for the screening of Purple Rain, from the Jamaica Gleaner, Dec. 17, 1984.

Jamaican musicians were inspired by Prince’s genius, and in an article in today’s Jamaica Observer, “Wayne Armond, the former front man and guitarist for the ‘70s reggae band Chalice, said he was rendered speechless when his wife informed him of the 57-year-old musician’s passing. ‘I dropped my wife off at work and was making my way back home when she called and told me Prince had died… I was heartbroken. Honest to God, that is the only way I can describe how I feel about his passing. You would not understand, but Prince is my favourite artiste,’ he told Splash. For Armond, Prince’s music represented a new, fresh sound for the time. But being a fellow guitarist meant that these two had much more in common. ‘A lot of people don’t recognise what a monster guitar player Prince really is. The popularity of his songs and performances really overshadows his tremendous skills on the guitar. I have watched clip after clip of him playing and it is just amazing to behold. I remember watching him guest at an event with a number of other great musicians and when they played My Guitar Gently Weeps. The only way I can describe his guitar solo for that performance is… sheer artistry.’ Prince penned classics including Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, 1999 and Nothing Compares To You. Music aside, the late artiste also captured Armond with his determination and the forthright nature he displayed from the very start of his career. ‘I remember hearing him as a 19-year-old, he took his early music to a record company. When the music execs said, ‘We like it but we will find someone to produce’ Prince just asked back for his demo tapes and left. I respected him from that day in the same way I respect Muhammed Ali for his humanitarian work. It the same way I feel about what happened when he was having troubles with his record company and he just changed his name to The Artist formerly known as Prince in order to release his new music… Just great,’ said Armond. He believes like the music of the greats Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Prince’s legacy will never die. ‘Every Jamaican musician should look into this man’s music. His work should be studied by students at the Edna Manley College for his compositions, lyrical content and musicianship.’”

Of course, there is a reggae version of many of Prince’s songs, including the album, “Purple Reggae,” which features a number of Prince tunes covered by various artists like Ali Campbell of UB40 and Sinead O’Connor.

From the Jamaica Gleaner, Nov. 18, 2014.

But I think my favorite connection between Prince and Jamaica comes in this little editorial that was submitted to the Jamaica Gleaner on July 9, 1987 that complained about the lyrics of Prince’s music and the popularity of North American music.

Ska has a long tradition of covering other songs, and so here is a collection of Prince songs in the ska and reggae genre. And could it be more appropriate that the links are purple?!

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, “Nothing Compares 2 U”

Ali Campbell of UB40, “Purple Rain”

Potato 5, “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”

Prince Buster, Uncategorized

Prince Buster on His Persecution as a Muslim

February 26, 2016February 25, 2023 haugustyn

What better way to celebrate an election in Jamaica than with the ruler of them all, Prince Buster?! I recently came across this Swing Magazine dated January 1969 in which Prince Buster appears on the cover of the digest-sized magazine and the small feature cover story details, among other subjects, his recent rise to the top of the music charts, the characteristics of ska and rocksteady and the potential of Desmond Dekker & the Aces, and his brief boxing career (read more on Prince Buster’s boxing career here). Perhaps most interesting in this short article, however, is the discussion of Prince Buster’s conversion to Islam and troubles with the Jamaican authorities in becoming a member of the faith. When we think of religious persecution in Jamaica during this time, we tend to think of the Rastafari oppression at the hands of the government and colonial people, but little do we think of those members of other religions as well, such as Nation of Islam, to which Prince Buster converted after meeting Muhammad Ali during his travels to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York with the Jamaican delegation. Here Prince Buster had gone to promote his country’s culture and celebrate his dedication and pride in his country, yet the authorities in that country in turn harassed him for his own culture. I in no way single out the Jamaican government for being at fault in this, as I recognize any group or authoritative body is likely to persecute the unknown until there is enlightenment. Let us hope that we as a society evolve closer to a sense of humanism and acceptance within our lifetimes. The article is below:

More on Prince Buster in Foundation Ska can be found on the links below:

Prince Buster Interview

Prince Buster Boxing

Prince Buster and Federal Records

Prince Buster Takes on the Beatles

Uncategorized

Skatalites Go Into Orbit

January 29, 2016February 22, 2023 haugustyn

The following article appeared in the June 27, 1964 issue of the Star Newspaper with the headline, “Skatalites Go Into Orbit.” The article by Lloyd Davis states, “Whether it was ska-ing ‘On Broadway,’ painting a ‘Ska-trait of my love’ or just plain ‘I’m in the mood for Ska’ there was something for every taste at Bournemouth on Wednesday night when Tommy McCook and the Ska-Talites went into orbit. It was just the shot in the arm the Bournemouth needed to revive this once popular night spot. The dance floor was a sea of heads bobbing up and down in ska tempo. Any physical training instructor would have been proud of the hand movements. It seems as if diets will be out soon, for the Ska could well pull that extra pound from the tummy area. Jamaicans all know of ‘Carry go, bring come’ but wait until you hear it set to music in the Ska beat. It’s a different kettle of fish. For the past few weeks, the band have taken over Bournemouth and have kept the place alive. Roland Alphonso on tenor sax, Don Drummond on trombone (when he sits in), leader Tommy McCook on tenor sax, Lloyd Brivett [sic.] bass, Lloyd Knibbs [sic.] drums, Johnny Moore trumpet, and Lester Sterling, alto sax and trumpet combine to produce a sound that’s great.”

Tommy McCook is the man who launched them:

“In 1962 a young musician returned to his island home after spending a few years in England and the United States. This young man, having wide experience in jazz music, linked up with a local group of jazzmen and started to make a name for himself. He was Tommy McCook. Tommy, who was then an authentic jazz musician and an increasingly popular artist, was invited by Messrs. Coxon [sic.] and Randy, to do recording for them, but for McCook, jazz was not to be given second place for SKA (which at the time was of very little significance). Roland Alfonso [sic.], who was doing recording for Coxon [sic.] and Randy left the island and also a vacant space for a recording artist which could only be filled by someone as proficient as Tommy McCook. It was at this stage that he decided to enter the recording scene and he did so with terrific force. One of his first record releases was ‘DOWNBEAT’ which was a hit, and he then went on to make his next hit ‘Road Block,’ a Ska instrumental. This release projected McCook to the front rank of leading recording artists where he was in constant demand by Ska Lords like Randy, Tip Top, Duke Kid [sic.], and Prince Buster. Today Ska as it should be played is produced by the talented musicians who are not attached to any particular band. Tommy McCook is one of these musicians. He realised that the Ska boom was being heard all over Jamaica and in other parts of the world and he organised his fellow musicians and formed a new Group called the SKATALITES. The SKATALITES have made four public appearances so far and have made a good impression.”

This article, which appeared in the Star Newspaper just two days later on June 29, 1964, provided a photographic account of one of those performances that the Ska-Talites made at the University of the West Indies, presumably at Mona. The top left photo shows Tommy McCook performing with the caption, “Tommy McCook, leader of the Ska-Talites, intent on his interpretation as the Skatalites play for the University’s undergrads.” The next photo bears the caption, “Press along, in various stances, ska-ites ‘dig the hot beat’ of Tommy McCook and the ‘Ska-talites.'” Below a photograph of a woman doing the “Wash Wash” appears, the song that Prince Buster made famous at the 1964 World’s Fair with the dance moves to correspond. Two ska dancers appear above the caption, “Getting With It, two respond to the ‘Skatalites’ keen sound during ‘Ska-talites Night’ at the University Students’ Union.” The two photos at the bottom feature a group shot of the band with the caption, “The men with the big sound: ‘The Skatalites’ at the Students’ Union of the University of the West Indies on Wednesday night last ‘Skatalites Night’ during the University’s ‘Festival Week.’ From left Johnny Moore (trumpet) Lord Tanamo (guitar), Roland Alphonso (Tenor Saxophone), Loyd Knibbs [sic.] (drums), Lester Sterling (alto saxophone), Lloyd Brevet [sic.] (bass), and leader Tommy McCook. Absent on the night was Don Drummond.” The next photo features a dancer with the caption, “‘Oh, Ah Can’t Take No More,’ this ska-ite seems to say.”

Don Drummond’s absence, incidentally, could be due to a number of circumstances. One, he could have been struggling with mental health issues, though he was not likely in Bellevue at this time, but more likely is a second scenario–while Don Drummond was certainly a member of the Skatalites, and a crucial member at that, he was also a widely recognized solo performer as well. In fact, that same month he headlined as a solo performer at Johnson’s Drive-Inn where he was billed as “Mr. Ska himself.” He appeared that same night with Margarita “Rhumba Queen,” so the point is that it is possible that Drummond may have had another engagement, or he simply turned this engagement down. We can only speculate with educated guesses at this point. Six months after this performance, Margarita would be dead, murdered at the hands of Don Drummond.

The following article appeared in the Star Newspaper the following month on August 20, 1964 with the headline, “The Ska-talites to tour Island.” The article reads, “Tommy McCook and the Ska-Talites will be performing in a series of stage shows at the Appleton ‘SKA-TA-RAMA’ presented by J. Wray & Nephew Ltd. at certain theatres. The Ska-Talites will be accompanied on the tour by The Maytals (with their theme song ‘Pain in My Belly’) and Maria Cordero, Dominican Republican rhumba dancer. Opening in St. Ann’s Bay in the Seville Theatre Monday August 31; Highgate, Movies Theatre, Tuesday, September 1; Port Antonio, Delmar Theatre, Wednesday, September 2; Old Harbour, Reo Theatre, Thursday, September 3. Kingston, Majestic Theatre. Sunday, September 6; Duncans, Crest Theatrem, Monday, September 7; Santa Cruz, Santa Theatre, Tuesday, September 8; Mandeville Tudor Theatre, Wednesday, September 9; Linstead, Theatre Royal, Thursday, September 10; and into Kingston at the Ritz Theatre Sunday, September 13. Other supporting artistes will be Hortense Ellis, Pluggy and Beryl, Ranny Willians, Alton Ellis, Don Drummond, Roland Alfonso [sic.], Sonny Bair, Delroy Wilson and other top local artistes. There will be free bottles of Appleton Rum given away to lucky ticket holders at each theatre.”

Below are two advertisements from these Ska-Ta-Rama shows.

Daily Gleaner, September 2, 1964:

Daily Gleaner, September 3, 1964:

Uncategorized

National Ska Day

June 1, 2015February 21, 2023 haugustyn

Did you know that there was a National Ska Day? And it’s not a new creation! I found this advertisement for it in a Star Newspaper from September 12, 1964 which proclaims that National Ska Day is on September 13th, the following day, and it is the fifth birthday of the ska, which is interesting. In 1959, Theo Beckford’s “Easy Snappin'” was released, but not sure which month it came out, and not sure if that is what this anniversary refers to–plus, that song was actually recorded in 1956, so it’s even fuzzier. And then there’s Prince Buster’s mug up there at the top of the ad. But look at the lineup–can you even imagine being there back in the day to hear these guys and gals! To jump on a bus at the Ward Theatre and head to this show to hear the drums of Count Ossie and Drumbago, and the horns of Sterling and Alphonso, and the sweet sounds of Hortense and Doreen Shaffer, here called Madam Dorene, love that! And then Eric Monty Morris, Derrick Morgan, Roy Panton, Toots and his crew, Alton Ellis–and the sound systems of Duke Reid and King Edwards, Prince Buster, and a guy from Spain named Ruddy! Chills. I’ll wait for my time machine and punch in September 13, 1964 first thing!

Vincent Bogle

Jamaican Rhumba Box Goes Modern

April 24, 2015February 27, 2023 haugustyn

This article appeared in the Jamaica Star newspaper on Friday, May 22, 1964 and announced, “Jamaican rhumba box goes modern.” Last December I wrote about Hedley Jones and his musical inventions, and you can read that HERE. But here is another innovator, Vincent Bogle, who improved on the rhumba box. The article reads:

Traditional artists who bewail the rapidly changing face of Jamaica’s folkways had better prepare themselves for some shaking news. The Jamaican rhumba box, which for years has given its distinctive sound to the island’s calypso bands, has gone modern.

Vincent Bogle, one of the island’s leading makers of these distinctive instruments, has produced a new design which adapts this primitive instrument to the demands of today’s amplified, electronic orchestras.

Formerly, rhumba boxes were acoustical, depending on a closed column of air projecting through a sound hole to amplify the sound. Tuned keys of spring metal were rigidly mounted on the front board of the soundbox, generally made of mahogany or cedar and the player sat on the box in order to play it.

Mr. Bogle’s new design is a radical departure from traditional design. The new box is hand-held and in fact is not a box at all. It is a solid-bodied instrument with the keys mounted on it, and with two microphones affixed. The player now plays standing, or seated on a chair, and the sound of the box is fed electronically into an amplifier and to a speaker.

The improved rhumba box reflects the gradual modernization of Jamaica’s calypso orchestras. Such leading groups as the Lord Jellicoe Calypso Band at the Sheraton-Kingston, and Calypso Joe’s group at Flamingo/Courtleigh Manor, shifted to the use of string bass because of the tonal and sound limitations of the old box. Some groups have been using amplified bass guitars following the trend started by the island’s popular dance orchestras.

The rhumba box itself is an African instrument, said to be about six centuries old. Instruments of many differing types, but all similar in basic principle, are found throughout the West Coast of Africa, as well as in Rhodesia and Tanganyika. They all use the method of having tuned spring metal “keys” which are plucked to obtain music, and in each case the keys are mounted on a sounding box which amplifies and projects the sound.

A good rhumba box of the old type, sturdy enough for knockabout use by a working calypso band, sells for about seven guineas. The new design “guitarumba” costs 17 pounds, 10-. Most of the cost is for the two microphone pickups. Mr. Bogle says he has registered the design.

Uncategorized

A Horse Named Ska

January 2, 2015February 21, 2023 haugustyn

This horse has a name, Ska, so take that America (the band, not the country)! I came across this article that was written during the summer of 1964, when ska was all over the Daily Gleaner after finally being accepted by the colonial newspaper. Apparently, ska was such a rage that owner Jacques Deschamps named his horse after the genre! It got me thinking about Jamaican music and the horses. I’ve previously written about Jamaican music and boxing, which you can read about here, and there is definitely affair between the Jamaican culture and boxing, but there is also one between the Jamaican culture and horse racing.
Perhaps the most well-known song about a race horse is that classic, “Longshot Kick De Bucket,” by the Pioneers. Before this song was made, the Pioneers recorded their song “Longshot (Buss Me Bet)” which was written by Lee “Scratch” Perry, according to Dave Thompson in his book, Reggae & Caribbean Music, and was produced by Joe Gibbs. This racehorse, Long Shot, had a long career, yet never won. “He gallop, he gallop, he gallop, but he couldn’t buss [bust] the tape.”
Their more popular sequel, “Longshot Kick De Bucket,” was about that same horse and begins with the same horse track trumpet call. According to Kevin O’Brien Chang and Wayne Chen, it was producer Leslie Kong (Beverley’s) who first heard about the death of Long Shot and so he had the Pioneers write and record a song about it and it was not only an immediate hit, but it has been covered many times over, namely by The Specials, as a staple of Jamaican music. The song references Caymanas Park which is the popular horse track in Kingston. The lyrics tell of the death of Long Shot, and the details of his death are told here, in this article I found in the Daily Gleaner on April 1, 1969, along with a photo of Long Shot! There he is folks, before he kick de bucket! And here’s Rameses who also met his demise that same week. The article states this horse was voted the “Horse of 1968.” Naturally, he became the subject of the Pioneers “Poor Rameses,” which has a similar sound to their previous horse homages. A post mortem conducted on Rameses revealed that he died of a heart attack. There is a trophy called the Rameses Trophy which is named in his honor and is still awarded today at Caymanas Park.

Yet another Jamaican music and horse race connection comes with Vincent Edwards, better known as King Edwards, who ran a sound system with his bother George called The Giant. It was one of the big three sound systems along with Coxsone Dodd’s Downbeat and Duke Reid’s The Trojan. But did you know that King Edwards was also involved in horse racing? Today, King Edwards is the president of the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers Association (JRTA). In an interview with Michael Turner and Brad Klein in February 2013, King Edwards told him of his work with horses. “I’m a politician. And a race horse trainer. I’m training horses now. For forty nine years. Even when I was a member of Parliament I was a trainer,” Edwards said. You can read the entire interview here, and I would recommend you do—it’s fantastic!

There have been plenty of songs referencing horses and horse racing over the years, including “Race Horse Touter” by Leon Wint which was later covered by Ranking Roger, and “Horse Race” by Derrick Morgan and Neville Brown. There were horse songs full of innuendo like “Small Horse Woman,” “Horse Tonic,” “Ride a Cock Horse,” and “Ride a Wild Horse.” There were horse songs full of metaphor like “Death Rides a Horse,” “Selassie Rides a White Horse,” and “Can’t Flog a Dead Horse.” Then of course, there was the record label called Horse, a sublabel of Trojan Records, appropriately!

Share your Jamaican music and horse connections in the comment section below!

SKA, Uncategorized

How to Dance the Ska

December 26, 2014February 24, 2023 haugustyn

We have seen the photographs of Ronnie Nasralla and Jeannette Phillips teaching us to dance the ska, step by step. These guides appeared on the back of various LPs, especially those by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires. But a dig through Daily Gleaner archives this week revealed that these dance steps also appeared in the newspaper in the summer of 1964, and so I post them here for you to see. They are essentially the same as those on the back of the albums, but they are sponsored by Desnoes & Geddes, the brewer of Red Stripe.

First a little background, which I posted earlier this year. Ronnie Nasralla told me how he came to create these dance steps to showcase the ska with Seaga and Byron Lee. “Let me tell you how it started. One day, Eddie Seaga, who was my close friend, called me. Eddie Seaga was friends with my sister. He was my sister’s boyfriend and he used to come by my house and I help him with his political campaign. Advertising was my forte. So I did all the advertising for the government, Eddie Seaga at that time. I help him with all his promotion. He told me he heard a music that was breaking out in Western Kingston called ska and he asked if I could promote it for him, so I said, ‘Well, I’d like to learn about.’ And we organized and I said, well Byron Lee is the best person to promote it. So we get together with Byron Lee down in Western Kingston and I learned the ska music. Eddie organized a dance at the Chocomo Lawn in Western Kingston—it’s an outdoor nightclub. And Byron played there and all the ska artists performed with Byron and it was a sensation. He [Seaga] said to me, ‘Ronnie, move around the crowd and see what they are doing on the dance floor and see if you can come up with a brochure about how to dance the ska. So I did that, saw the people dancing around and came up with a brochure about a week after, how to dance the ska, give them different steps in the ska, and something that they could use to promote ska worldwide. That brochure was used by the government, they put it in all the record albums and it was sent all over the world and I was asked to go to the states and promote the ska with somebody and I got Jannette Phillips to dance with me. Jannette was a dancer, a belly dancer, a friend of my sister. We took pictures doing the different steps and the brochure was produced and given to the government and it was put in all the ska albums,” says Nasralla.

Nasralla had traveled to the U.S. with the group of musicians from Jamaica to promote the ska at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. You can read more about this visit in my posts here: Ska Ska Ska! Jamaica Ska!

Without further ado, here are the advertisements from the Daily Gleaner, so get ready to put on your dancing shoes!

Tag: SKA

Paul Allen, owner of Sister Iggy’s record collection, dies

The Lost Photos of Laurel Aitken

Skatalites’ Tragic Show

Prince and Jamaica and Ska

Prince Buster on His Persecution as a Muslim

Skatalites Go Into Orbit

National Ska Day

Jamaican Rhumba Box Goes Modern

A Horse Named Ska

How to Dance the Ska