For those of us who danced through the transitions of ska to rocksteady and rocksteady to reggae, this Reggae Month has special meaning. The music that had you singing along and livened your gatherings dances forever in your memories.
My husband Hubie has great stories of the artists he met while working as an engineer at Total Sounds (later Sonic Sounds). He recalled the dictionary and notebook that was Jimmy Cliff’s constant companions. The legendary singer explained that whenever he heard or read a new word, he would look it up, write it down with the meaning and try to use it several times until it became a part of his vocabulary and enriched his lyrics.
One day Hubie took home a record: his boss Herman McDonald wanted my opinion (I was theatre reviewer for Daily News) because Bob Marley had requested a sizeable deposit before they could distribute. The only thing I could say after he played it was, “Tell Mr Mac he should give him double.” So Bob’s request was granted and the record was Number One for six straight weeks; it was “Rat Race”!
Neville Garrick who was creative director at the Daily News, designed album covers for Bob Marley, creating striking images to match the enduring legacy of Marley’s music. And so, our lives reverberated with sounds from Bob, Cliff, Toots Hibbert, Alton Ellis, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, Byron Lee, Gregory Isaacs, Hortense Ellis, the amazing I-Threes – Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt (I wish their song “Neighbour” was more popular – we should use it for community building) . Later we were thrilled by the Marley children, Buju, Nadine Sutherland, Cynthia Schloss, JC Lodge, Carlene Davis, Queen I-Frica, Tony Rebel, Cocoa Tea, Freddie McGregor, Beres Hammond, Fab 5 and Bare Essentials. How beautiful the story about Bob Marley’s mentorship of Nadine Sutherland carried in the Jamaica Observer.
I have been close to the Sisters of Mercy almost all my life and so I knew the late, great Sister Mary Ignatius Davis, principal of Alpha Boys School. You can imagine my surprise when I was watching a music programme on television and there was Sister Ignatius featuring in a Leroy Smart music video. I called to tease her but she was not amused. “My dear,” she said. “That boy Leroy called to say he wanted to visit me and when he came in I saw these cameras! I had no idea!” Sister Ignatius, her predecessor Sister Marie Therese Watson (aunt of Merrick Needham) and successor, Sister Regine Isaacs loved those students like their own and encouraged them to create their own sounds. Thus the school became the cradle of ska. Now, former Alpha student the great Sparrow Martin continues to guide the young musicians. Dr Joshua Chamberlain, founder of Alpha Boys Radio, supported by I-Heart Radio, has overseen the collection of music featuring Alpha graduates played on that station – you would be amazed at their range and reach.
And so, this past week, as we celebrated the 75th Birthday of Bob Marley and also Dennis Brown’s Birthday earlier in the month, we are again overwhelmed by the richness of the music with which we have been endowed.
Last Wednesday The Ghetto Youth Foundation, brainchild of the Marley siblings Steven, Damian and Ziggy and headed by philanthropist Eva Silverstein, opened the Cornerstone Learning Centre in Trench Town. This is one of the best tributes to their father who sang out the tribulations of the poor in his community.
Koffee – ‘Gratitude is a must’
There are many reasons to Toast (pun-intended) Koffee, our youngest and only woman Reggae Grammy-winning artist. Give thanks for her mother Jo-Anne Williams; check her Instagram page @jojothekoffeemaker and imagine the unique upbringing of her daughter. “Gratitude is a must” from Koffee’s lyrics is her constant hashtag, a phrase now well woven into virtually every vote of thanks.
We enjoyed Koffee’s introductions on YouTube videos by Chronixx, her Spanish Town neighbour on a BBC special and Cocoa Tea at Rebel Salute. It is heartening to see the mentorship and collegiality among our musicians. The young star’s return to Jamaica was a bright spot in a week which had some heart wrenching news. Can we try to reach those cold hearts with our music?
VP Records’ “Miss Pat”
We met the generous Patricia ‘Miss Pat’ Chin, co-Founder of VP records with her late husband Vincent ‘Randy’ Chin at an event hosted by Ambassador of France Denys Wibaux, last Tuesday. The couple is credited for guiding emerging stars on their rights, regarding copyright and royalties. Starting with Randy’s Record Store in 1958 in Downtown Kingston, the couple moved to New York in the seventies, opening up new marketing opportunities for Jamaican music. Now the VP Group has offices in New York City, Miami, Kingston, London, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg.
Pat Chin (Convent of Mercy Academy ‘Alpha’ alumna) is currently writing her book, ’60 Years of Jamaican Music’. That will be a keeper.
Ambassador Wibaux and Senator Tom Tavares-Finson, Chair of the National Gallery urged us to visit the “Jamaica Jamaica!” music exhibition at the National Gallery. We met the gifted David Cairol, a Bob Marley devotee from France who has been linking high school students in Jamaica and France. His music video shows the unifying power of music: a song about togetherness with the French verses sung by students of St. George’s College and the English sung by French students.
Jamaica Highlights 