![]() Frederick “Freddie” Campbell (Writer, arranger, musician – conga drums, drum set, keyboards) Complied with the assistance of Fred Campbell from numerous interviews throughout 2020, © by Rich Lowe 2020. www.reggaejamaicaway.com Small group, band, and orchestra memberships: Noel Seal (mentoring and teaching) The Caribs (first live performances) Kes Chin and The Souvenirs Carlos Malcolm and his Afro Jamaican Rhythms Leslie Butler Trio The Granville Williams Orchestra Teddy Greaves Ernest Ranglin Trio Freddie Campbell Trio The Skajamz Band Frederick “Freddie” Campbell is a Jamaican musician best known as a drummer. He was first trained on the conga drums and moved to “traps” - commonly known as a drum set. Campbell played the top drum manufacturer at the time, Ludwig. I didn’t work with the earlier bands from the 1940s. I came in at the tail end of the greats – the Bertie Kings, the Aubrey Adams, the Taddy Mowatts, and the Ernest Ranglins. For instance, I didn’t know Eric Deans or his band, but I heard about him, a lot! Those guys told me about all of their experiences – the eight hour gigs and all night gigs. They laughed at me when I told them playing on a four hour gig was too long. I came into it working at hotels for four hours and whittled it down to an ideal three hours. As a youth, when these things were happening you never think that someday, fifty years from now, people would be interested in what we did. I understand more now because the music was the soul of the people. These people give up their jobs, to go and sing. I grew up with my aunt and when I told her I was gonna do music, she said, “Well you can now my Fred, but you can’t live here. You gotta go find somewhere to live, because I didn’t spend all that money on school to have you become a musician.” I had to leave. I packed my bags at night and left and I had no idea where I was going. When I was in school in the early-1950s, there was this guy named Noel Seal and I was hearin’ him practice as I would pass his gate. I would stop to listen as he was playing his conga drum. There was something that caught my attention, it was very striking, as if the sound of his playing was amplified to my ears. It was as if there were no other sound – other than the sound radiating his drum. I wasn’t even a teenager – I was twelve or maybe even younger. I remember because it was before the entrance exams at high school. I took my exam at age eleven and passed. I passed, but didn’t get a scholarship, until the second attempt. Me being that age, Noel was also still a young man - he was probably twenty-six, and not married yet. I stood at his gate and was so excited to hear him playing his drums. One day he saw me out there leaning against the tall metal gate and say, “Come on in! Come on in!” I went in and he taught me how to play the conga drum over a period of years. Noel’s conga drum? He taught me all of the basics, the different rhythms from the rumba to the meringue, and the cha to the mambo, and the samba to the bossa nova. These were patterns that were basic patterns. Noel said if you can play these, you can work in any band, and that was true! Noel learned from working on the ship and going to Cuba. I still think that as far as conga playing is concerned, he is still one of the greatest conga players that Jamaica has produced. Larry MacDonald is another great and is one of the best conga players around. It was Noel Seal that encouraged me to play a full drum set. He knew there were more jobs for the full kit, as compared with the congas alone. Not a lot is known about Noel because he is such a laidback fellow. So relaxed and easy going that people took advantage of him. I’m sorry to say that, but I found it to be true. With all the training from Noel, I still had never played in a band or anything. A few years passed and by the time I reached age seventeen I was still practicing with Noel. There was a time where Noel got a boil on his hand when he was playing with The Caribs, and he couldn’t play. He told me that if he didn’t play, he would lose his job, so could I sit in for him. I was surprised and said, “Noel I have never played.” He said, “You know enough, man. Just keep the beat. You don’t have to solo or anything.” For two weeks I sat in for Noel with Dennis Sindrey, Lowell Morris, and Peter Stoddart. When I was done and Noel had healed, he said to me, “Y’know, I can’t give ya everything, because I have still have bills. I can give you something, so hold this and thank you very much.” With what he gave me, I thought this is a lot of money! When I left school, I was making six pounds a week as a junior accountant at a big firm down in Kingston. I made twelve pounds per week sittin’ in for Noel, so I thought about which I prefer and decided to do both. In 1960, at age nineteen, I joined Kes Chin and The Souvenirs. Earlier, I had heard them rehearsing in my neighborhood. I went further and look, and I saw two guitars, a bass, and a drum set was there, but no drummer. I walked in and told them I can play the drums for them. They asked if I was sure. I told them “Sure – I can do that,” even though I had never played a drum kit before. I sat in and got by, and I got the job. I worked with them on Friday and Saturday nights at parties and weddings. Again, I was making more money than a whole week working as a junior accountant. I stayed with that band and met Winston Turner, Ska Sterling, and I already knew Boris Gardiner from home because he lived near where my girlfriend lived. I asked Boris Gardiner to join Kes Chin because they really needed a singer. My mentor – who is still my best teacher, is Carlos Malcolm. I’ve taken music courses at El Camino in California, it was just a little college at the time and I was one of the early students, but no matter how much studies I do, Carlos continues to be unsurpassed in knowledge and advice. We talk often and I share my work with him, and he makes suggestions on arrangements. From those suggestions, that’s the equivalent of a whole semester at a university! After I left Carlos Malcolm, I was playing with Leslie Butler on the north coast of Jamaica. I had worked with Leslie Butler in Jamaica for quite a while and when he traveled to The Bahamas for a three-month thing, he just brought me with him. My next big move was when I became a member of The Granville Williams Orchestra, but I’m not quite positive when I starting playing with Granville Williams. I think it was Ernest Ranglin that called me to play with Williams after Carlos Malcolm and after I came back from the Bahamas with Leslie Butler. I got into that circle because Williams’ brother Audley Williams played bass guitar with Carlos. I had known both Ernest and Audley, so I was a natural to be the drummer. Williams was an organist who played the top of the line Hammond B3 organ, made famous the jazz man, Jimmy Smith. Williams was a white Jamaican from Spanish Town, tall slim, attractive. His brother was also a musician - Audley Williams, who played bass for Carlos Malcolm and the great Ernie Ranglin. When I was with Granville Williams, Ernest Ranglin played guitar and did all of the arrangements that the group played. As a result, our music was upbeat and bouncy. We also covered this tune called “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest, and that song was one of our hit tunes. Additionally, we played songs by Glen Miller and Artie Shaw, along with some mento and a lot of ska. We did not play much American music. I want you to know about the first time I worked with Ernest Ranglin. I was so amazed when he played, that I stopped playing and just listened. He walked over and said, “Fred, ya can join in y’know.” That’s when I realized that I wasn’t even playing. Other players would have gotten mad at me, but not Ernie. Ernest used to regularly keep a cigarette in his mouth, but he would never light it. He would say, “Fred, this is temptation. It’s building up my confidence.” One of the first recording that I did was with the Jiving Juniors. It was Derrick Harriott singing alone on one called “John Tom.” If you get a copy of the original recording, you can find out everyone that was in the studio, because he was calling out all of the names of the people that was in the studio – Larry, Trevor, Freddie, Keith. I was playing drums on that song and it wasn’t ska drums yet, it was more mento. I played on recordings by Owen Gray and Derrick Morgan and also recorded for producer Sonia Pottinger. We were recording at Federal when it was just a little one-house thing, before they built the big studio. When I was working with Granville Williams, my friend Cedric Im Brooks got an offer to work with Teddy Greaves. Greaves was a popular singer and band leader that played at the West End of The Bahamas. Cedric was a little upset that he’d be leaving the band and he didn’t want to break up the band. I say, “Man go! Cuz I know you’re gonna call me when they need a drummer” [laughs]. I just threw that out there y’know. It wasn’t three months after that, I got a call from him that they need a drummer. Teddy is Jamaican, a very good entertainer, but never really did anything in Jamaica. When he was in Jamaica, he made barrels as a cooper, and somehow he ended up in The Bahamas as a singer. We played at The Jack Tar Hotel in the West End, Grand Bahama. Jack Tar was a hotel chain, but that location in The Bahamas no longer exists. I worked with Ernest Ranglin on and off quite extensively over the years. Much later in my career -in the 1970s, I played with the Ernest Ranglin Trio. The formal name of the trio was “The Ernest Ranlin-Hedley Jones Trio” and it was just Ernie, Hedley Jones, and me. We played hotel gigs, like the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay. I assembled my own Trio in the 1970s. It was the Fred Campbell Trio and I was playing drums. Our trio would play one set and then they had entertainment like crab races to get the people involved. Afterwards we did another half hour set to clean up. My last job before I left Jamaica was at The Trelawny Beach Hotel. Trumpet player and pianist - Billy Cooke, was another great that played in my trio at the Montego Beach Hotel in 1977. He could play trumpet and piano at the same time! He would play the chords with his left hand and thereby accompany himself. This is challenging because the trumpet was in one key and the piano is in another key. Of course, if someone else was soloing, Cooke would play the piano with both hands. After I came to the US, I did one tour playing American music standards with some old men affiliated with the US armed forces. We toured Las Vegas and played at area gigs out west in the US. I also worked with Cosmic Force Records in Miami in the role as C.E.O. In collaborating with Cosmic Force owner Paul Chin-Quee, we successfully opened international distribution for our music. Having been in the States for so many years, I stated to get bored and began to write more music and make some musical arrangements. This is how my band, The Skajamz Band was developed. I play keyboards with the group and we have recorded a number of singles “Run for Cover,” “Wood and Water,” and “Simmer Down.” I like good players that site read, interpret the music, and are familiar with the genre. Just like language, certain words in one language don’t mean the same thing in another language. Music is similar, so you have to get musicians that are familiar with the genre. We do a collage of music, a little ska, reggae, mento, and African music. It’s not just one thing on the album, it’s what I have to say. Originally my key people with The Skajamz Band were Richard White and Arthur McCloud – both on bass. They were both excellent bass players. Arthur was so good at reading music, that if a fly pitched on a line or space on the sheet music, he would play it! We also had Devon James on guitar, and he played with The Skatalites for twenty-two years. On trumpet I had a young fellow named Yamin Mustafa, whose father - Melton Mustafa, played with the Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Woody Herman Orchestras. There are a couple of young guys playing trombone and saxophone that are fresh out of college. They were with the Florida A&M University Marching Band, “The Marching One Hundred.” Freddie Campbell continues to play the drums and is writing and arranging new music. His goal is to be back playing on the north coast of Jamaica with his Skajamz Band. Rich Lowe www.reggaejamaicaway.com 2020
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![]() Bobby Dixon a.k.a. “Bobby Digital” passed away in May of 2020 and it’s another great loss for Jamaican music. Not yet reaching the age of sixty, Bobby Digital was young and equipped with both talent and work ethic, and would surely have continued to produce exceptional Jamaican music. Bobby Digital grew up on Waterhouse and as a youth attended dances by Stur Grav and Socialist Roots Sound Systems. He began his impact on the music of Jamaica repairing equipment as an electronics technician. He soon moved into sound system work with Heatwave sound, and next in 1983-1984 as a dub cutter and engineer for King Jammy$. While with Jammy$, Bobby Digital even recorded to disc – impromptu artist performances live on the mic. In 1984, an important development in Jamaican music was to transform Bobby Digital’s career. This development took the form of Noel Davey’s “Sleng Teng” riddim, exploding with lyrics. The “Sleng Teng” riddim was a marking point where digital music began to surge from Jamaican recording studios. In 1988, Bobby Digital began to produce music in Jamaica and then opened a small recording studio that was situated at Rons Road in the Hughenden area of Kingston. Although the studio was small, the sound was big, bold, and crisp and Bobby Digital maintained this same studio throughout his career – working with loyal colleagues like Spragga Roots. At Digital-B Recording Studio, thousands of tracks were recorded that hit the charts, rocked the dance halls, and earned Grammy awards. Generations of artists grew out of Digital-B from the 1980’s, the 1990’s, and into the first two decades of the twenty first century. Bobby Digital introduced new artists to Jamaica like Shabba Ranks and garnet Silk and raised the bar on existing artists like Sanchez D and Cocoa Tea. The musical output includes, “Dem Bow” and “Peanie Peanie” by Shabba Ranks, “Black Woman and Child” by Sizzla, the “It’s Growing” album by Garnet Silk, and the “Kette Drum” riddim. The following is a selected discography of Bobby Dixon productions. Singles Selections Bobby Digital – Digital-B 7” Singles: Risto Benji – Girls Kid – Digital-B 7” - Shabba Ranks – Paid Down For It – Digital-B 7” – 1989 Daddy Screw – Love Yuh Till Mi Fool – Digital-B 7” – 1993 Bryan & Tony Gold – On and On– Digital-B 7” – 1989 Leroy Smart – 100% Love– Digital-B 7” – 1992 Luciano – Get Down On It– Digital-B 7” – 2003 Gregory Isaacs - Yesterday– Digital-B 7” – (no date listed) Derrick Parker – My Heart Is Gone– Digital-B 7” – 1989 Marcia Griffiths & Morgan Heritage– Digital-B 7” – 2000 Dean Frazier - Saxdelero– Digital-B 7” - 1991 Gregory Isaacs and John Holt – Body language – Digital-B – (Gregory careful with his singing) Gregory Isaacs – Wailing Rudie – Digital-B (Poor “Johnny” - a man with a wrong path in life or pathetic quality, which was a reoccurring Isaacs song writing pattern) Sanchez D – Give It A Chance – Digital-B – 1990 Jimmy Riley – Chat Chat – Digital-B – 1992 Jimmy Riley & Anthony Red Rose – Changes In Life– Digital-B – 1992 Red Dragon – Cock It Up High – Digital-B – 1993 Ninjaman – Number One – Digital-B -1990 Ninjaman – Fulfillment – Digital-B – 1990 Ninjaman & Gregory – Cowboy Town – Digital-B – 1991 Gregory Isaacs – Lead Me – Digital-B – 1992 Shabba Ranks – Hot Like Fire – Digital-B – 1988 Shabba Ranks – Just Reality – Digital-B- 1990 Shaka Shamba – Reggae Fight – Digital-B – 1991 Lady G & Sugar Minott – Love Yu Fi True – Digital-B- 1992 Clement Irie – Know How Fi Walk – Digital-B- Louie Culture – In A Yu Waist – Digital-B – 1993 Shabba Ranks & Leslie Thunder – What Can You Do– Digital-B – Shabba Ranks – Hard & Stiff– Digital-B- 1990 Shabba Ranks & Morgan Heritage – Dem A Bawl – Digital-B- Ninjaman – Glad Mi Release – Digital-B- 1987 Ninja Ford – Step Aside – Digital-B – 1992 Ninja Ford – Boast -– Digital-B – 1993 Johnny Osbourne – Roots Man Come – Digital-B – 1989 Johnny Osbourne & Chaka Demus – Few Dollars More – Digital-B Sanchez – Player Hater – Digital-B – 2004 Spanner Banner – Mary Brown - – Digital-B – 1990 Ian Sweetness – Give Them A Hand – Digital-B – 1991 Daddy Screw – Sweet Type of Lover – Digital-B – 1993 Ricky Stereo – Original Lover Boy – Digital-B Tony Rebel – Sweet Jamaica – Digital-B - 1991 Shabba Ranks – When You’re Up - Digital-B - Shabba Ranks – Gal You Good - Digital-B - 1990 Shabba Ranks – Dem Bow - Digital-B - 1990 (link to Reggaeton style) Dem Bow – B-side version with vocals Power Man – Statue - Digital-B – 1993 Cocoa Tea – Lonesome Side - Digital-B - 1987 (with cock crow in riddim) Wayne Wonder – Someone To Hold - Digital-B - 1993 Sanchez D – Unchained - Digital-B - 1992 Singing Melody – Groovy Kind of Love - Digital-B *Anthony B - Raid The Barn - Yami Bolo – Hot Stepping - Digital-B - 1993 Morgan Heritage – Blackman’s Paradise - Digital-B Garnet Silk – Splashing Dashing - Digital-B - 1994 Singing Melody – In This Love Together - Digital-B - 1989 Josey Wales – How Yu Mouth Tan So - Digital-B Tiger & Anthony Malvo – How Do You Do - Digital-B Cobra – Tek Him - Digital-B – 1991 Thriller U – Ribbon In The Sky - Digital-B - 1990 Wayne Wonder – When I’m With You – Digital-B - 1991 Digital-B 12” Singles: Shabba Ranks – Girls Wine – Digital-B 12” – Johnny P – Winery – Digital-B 12” – Digital-B 12” – Penny Irie – Condem – Digital-B 12” – Buju Banton – Good Looking Gal – Digital-B 12” – (1993 Promo 12”) Daddy Blue - Video – Digital-B 12” – (with “Digital Crew”) Shabba Ranks & Thriller U – Real Real – Digital-B 12” – Bunny General – Me A Beg Oonuh – Digital-B 12” – Courtney Melody – Live My Life Alone – Digital-B 12” - Coco Tea & Johnny P – Come Love Me – Digital-B 12” Daddy Lizard - Inaculator – Digital-B 12” – Sugar Minott & Anthony Malvo – Can’t Control The Feeling – Digital-B 12” – Ninjaman – Things A Gwan – Digital-B 12” – Ninjaman – Test The High Power – Digital-B 12” – Ruddy Thomas – I’m The One – Digital-B 12” – Cobra – Mate Ha Fi Move – Digital-B 12” – (VP Records collaboration) Shabba Ranks – Are You Sure – Digital-B 12” – Dirtsman – Trailer Load Come – Digital-B 12” – (*Most of the 12” releases are collaborations with Steelie & Clevie). Shabba Ranks - Hood Top – Digital-B 12” – 1992 Josey Wales – Every Man Tun Ginal– Digital-B 12” – 1989 Joesy Wales – Chanty Chanty – Digital-B 12” –1995 Rich Lowe www.reggaejamaicaway.com 2020 ![]() Noel Phillips a.k.a. “Echo Minott” was born and grew up in Maverley and he attended my mother Gertrude Dixon’s basic level school that she started when she lived in Trenchtown. Lord Sassafrass’s mother started a school at their home called Maverley Basic School. Mi know Echo’s mother and the family name was Marshall. He used to live five houses around the corner from me on Amsterdam Road first, and I lived on Denver Crescent. He was younger than me and I know Echo as a lickle baby. Me give him a hard time growing up because he say he want to be a DJ. I tell him I don’t want to see no DJ around me – all mi want to see is singers. So him come and sing and I say that no good! Every time him sing, I give him a hard time. I tell him the song is no good. When him tun big, he tell me, “I know what you was doing! Every time you would run me, I’ll come back harder Sass.” He say he know, and that’s why he’s where he is now. Up to this day, he still call me Teacher. I gi’ Echo Minott the mic on Black Scorpio Sound System man! The first song he buss in a dance was “Farmer Man” that he recorded for producer Junjo Lawes. Echo was a little tough kid that always run competition with me. Him say he can play soccer better and him can run faster than me, so me and him always clash from him lickle – that guy. One time he thief my lyrics book, where I write down all the songs I sing. I go over his house and find the book. I wasn’t mad! Great him a go get great now man! Echo Minott go to Black Scorpio, Jammy$, and Volcano Record label as a singer and got big singing songs. He was one of the first singers to record at Jammy$ after Jammy split off from King Tubby. His voice is unique because he used to sing in a calypso style on reggae songs. People would even think that he come from Trinidad. You can hear this style on his song “What The Hell The Police Can Do,” when he sings the phrase about how he and his girl were fighting. Minott created huge dancehall hits like Lazy Body,” “Been Around The World,” “Cheo Cheo” with General Trees, and “Cool and Deadly.” The Black Scorpio super hit by Echo Minott called “Lazy Body” was recorded by Chris Meredith and Paul Blake’s Drummer. Surprisingly, there is no guitar in it at all. When first asked to voice the song, Echo Minott did not want to sing on it at all. He did not want to record for Jack because he was much more interested in working with Jammy$. The song became a monster hit for Black Scorpio. Now Echo Minott is a producer, and he works on big stage shows, and travels the world. The Matador - Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music book is now available in the form of "expanded distribution" for order at Book Stores and distributors via Amazon - worldwide.
Check it out using the button below ! By Dan Polletta
PUBLISHED - February 7, 2020 TOPICS - Arts & Culture IDEASTREAM E-NEWS In 1982, Rich Lowe was a student at John Carroll University hosting a reggae program on the campus station, when a recording he had purchased at a record convention caught his eye. “I was playing some of these Jamaican seven-inch singles. One of them had a hand stamp that said, ‘Daley’s Television and Radio Repair Service.’ It was just very, very intriguing to see a hand stamp on a record. I didn't understand what that was until years later,” Lowe said. Lowe, who spent nearly four decades as the host of the weekly reggae program, “Night of the Living Dread,” on Case Western Reserve University station WRUW, began looking into the story behind the name stamped on the recording. Lowe discovered that “Lloyd,” was Lloyd Daley, an important sound system operator, producer and electronics engineer, who, beginning in late 1950s, was one of the first to document Jamaican music during what was known as the “shuffle period.” Lloyd continued to produce recordings into the 1980s and worked with many important performers including Dennis Brown, Count Ossie and Alton Ellis. However, Lowe found that almost no interviews existed with Lloyd himself. Lowe learned why, as he began the research that led to his new book about Lloyd, "The Matador" (Jamaica Way Publishing). Lowe described Daley as a "middle-class, clean cut well-dressed guy who produced deep Rastafarian music," who became disillusioned with the music business. Daley said others had pirated his work, as well as that he feeling that he didn't receive the credit he deserved as an important figure in Jamaican music. There were also numerous run-ins with powerful figures who tried to eliminate Daley from the scene, including destroying his equipment, according to Lowe. Daley’s strong personality often led him to butt heads with others, which earned him his nickname. “He was feisty. He was the type of person who had great willpower, so that's where he got the name, ‘The Matador,’ because he was this young guy taking on these other powerful people, like a bullfighter would take on a bull,” Lowe said. Despite numerous requests from major music publications, Daley retreated from public view, refusing to do interviews. Though he knew Daley wasn’t amenable to interviews, in 2014, Lowe sent a letter to Daley’s home in Kingston asking for the opportunity to speak to him in the hopes of writing a book about him. To Lowe’s surprise, he received a reply a week later. “I don't know why he opened up to me. In some sense, I think he was waiting for the right person to come along with what he called ‘the vibes.’ He said ‘it was the vibes that caused me to open up to you more.’ We talked for four years almost on a daily basis. He told me just about everything,” Lowe said. During their frequent phone conversations and email correspondence, Lowe witnessed firsthand why Daley was known as “The Matador.” “He was always feisty. If I asked a question the wrong way, he might get really mad at me. That's who he was, and that's why he didn't open up to others. He would flatly refuse to communicate with other people,” Lowe said. Lowe came to understand quickly the best way to speak to Daley. “I was polite. I was honorable. I never did anything to offend his position in music. I was very delicate in how I dealt with things, but also, conversely, very honest and open and blunt sometimes. I would ask him the direct questions, Lowe said. In addition to his extensive conversations with Daley, Lowe interviewed numerous musicians as well as Daley family and friends for his book. Time after time in those interviews, Lowe’s subjects told him they couldn’t believe that Daley was willing to speak with him, given his reluctance to share details of his life. Although Daley died prior to the completion of “The Matador” in 2018, Lowe feels the reggae great appreciated the opportunity to share his story. “He was pleased with the progress of this book. I think he got a chance to share his history. I think he was very happy about it. I know that this is part of his legacy,” Lowe said. PRESS RELEASE (January 14, 2020) Lloyd Daley, reclusive and prolific Jamaican music producer, featured in revealing new biography - The Matador, by Rich Lowe Lloyd “The Matador” Daley passed away on March 18, of 2018. Now - two years after his passing, a new book The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music reveals the impact he made on Jamaican music that continues to this day. Author Rich Lowe revisits Daley’s memories of building some of the most powerful amplifiers on the island of Jamaica, forming the Matador Sound System, and becoming a top selling music producer in the golden eras of Jamaican Boogie-Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae music. Daley spent the last four years of his life working on this book project with Rich Lowe. Lloyd Daley produced Jamaican music that was consistent and brimming with quality. He recorded artists of the era who have come to be recognized over time: Members of The Skatalites, Dennis Brown, The Gladiators, The Wailing Souls, The Heptones, Little Roy, Freddie McKay, Alton Ellis, The Ethiopians, The Hippy Boys, The Abyssinians, Count Ossie, The Viceroys, and many more. As a sound system owner, Daley battled with giants of the day like King Edwards, Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid, and Bells the President. Unlike many other producers of the era, Daley was deeply involved in many of the technical aspects of Jamaican music production. He was reclusive, and in later years, reportedly angry over violations and piracy that he had experienced. Rich Lowe shares, “I was aware that even after sixty years since the start of his musical journey, that there was the possibility of speaking with Mr. Daley directly about his music. I decided to attempt contact. It was a long shot, and I don’t know what made him decide to engage in a dialogue. Much later, he would describe it as ‘vibes.’” Mr. Daley put his trust in this book. Sound system owner Prince Jackie Robinson noted to the author, “You must be a special person for Mr. Daley to share this information with you. He never does that.” Robinson then laughed heartily and continued: “The Matador was The Matador. Is a man that never stand for no foolishness.” The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music is now available internationally via Amazon in paperback, Kindle and eBook formats. jamaicaway809@gmail.com ReggaeJamaicaway.com YouTube: Jamaica809
Biography
Lloyd Daley – “The Matador” Lloyd David Edward Daley (born 12 July 1939, died 18 March 2018), produced Ska, Reggae, Rock Steady, and Dancehall music in Jamaica under the title of “The Matador.” In addition to music production, Daley was an electronics engineer and he operated a dance hall sound system in Kingston, Jamaica, starting in the mid-1950s. Lloyd Daley operated this dominant sound system in the city where dancehall music was born – Kingston, Jamaica. At a young age, Mr. Daley formed his own electronics business where he repaired televisions and radios, built amplifiers, repaired motors, and installed video cameras, among many other projects. Over time, Mr. Daley created his sound system“Lloyd’s The Matador,” by employing sophisticated engineering techniques and selecting specific songs for play, and this system, with its tremendous capabilities, would ultimately play in every parish in Jamaica. As Lloyd’s The Matador Sound System played, Mr. Daley “clashed” with greats of the 1950s and 1960s, such as like Duke Reid, Sinclair “The Lion,” Bells the President, Count Boysie, King Edwards, and Coxson. Mr. Daley was always in search of something more, and he was a determined man who often sought out challenges and competition. Defiance often led to conflict, and The Matador—by definitionas suggested by his name—was prepared to manage this conflict to his advantage. Mr. Daley operated at the center of the sound system eruption in the mid 1950’s in Jamaica, recording as a producer in the golden eras of Jamaican Boogie-Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae music. As a producer, Daley had consistency, quality, and was selective. Lloyd Daley recorded artists of the era who have come to be recognized over time: Members of The Skatalites, Dennis Brown, The Gladiators, The Wailing Souls, The Heptones, Little Roy, Freddie McKay, Alton Ellis, The Ethiopians, The Hippy Boys, The Abyssinians, Count Ossie, The Viceroys, and many more. As a sound system owner, Lloyd Daley battled with giants of the day like King Edwards, Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid, and Bells the President. In addition to Daley’s music accomplishments, he also had a close connection with iconic Jamaican orchestra leader Eric Deans, whose daughter Deanna Deans, married Daley in 1967. The “Deans” name is legendary, Eric Deans was a multitalented musician who earned a reputation as the top orchestra leader in the 1940s and 1950s Kingston club scene. A new book about Lloyd Daley, The Matador – Sonic Pioneer of Jamaican Music is available internationally via Amazon in paperback, Kindle and eBook formats. __________________________________________________________________________________ “One of the unsung heroes at the time of course was Lloyd ‘The Matador.’ He was very, very good because Lloyd used to build all these sound system amplifiers.” - Graeme Goodall, Federal Recording Studio Engineer “Big sounds were never, ever friendly with each other. They only pretended until they meet in the same dance hall and then it is a different thing.” - Lloyd “The Matador” Daley _____________________________________________________________________________ jamaicaway809@gmail.com ReggaeJamaicaway.com YouTube: Jamaica809 Hugh Hendricks of Hugh Hendricks and The Buccaneers
[Hugh Hendricks Interview – Rich Lowe] I started my band in 1968. That is when we had Ska, going into Rocksteady. This was in New York City at the time. I first went to New York City in June of 1963 at age 20. I had to come to the U.S. before I was 21, so that I could come on my mother’s VISA, so I could get my green card. Actually I didn’t want to come to the U.S. and leave Jamaica! In 1965 I bought a house and there was a piano in the house. The lady asked if she could leave it because it was going to be too expensive to remove. That was the piano that we started to learn music from. I never did music in Jamaica as I was an electrician. I was about 21 year old and we got some guys from the local high school (Wingate High School) and started playing around and bought some equipment. This was in Brooklyn and none were professional musicians. We did some Soca with The Mighty Sparrow. He was coming to Madison Square Garden and I was the only Jamaican member of a band that was with the local Union in New York and you had to perform at to Madison Square Garden as a Union band. They couldn’t use his musicians, so I had to perform with Phyllis Dillon and Eddie Lovette. I got into Calypso and Soca, but it was Calypso at that time. Some of Sparrow’s musicians came back to New York, so I got some of his horn men. My horn section was basically Trinidadians and then Lester Sterling. Lester stayed with me for a long time starting in the early 70’s. He’s an original from The Skatalites. At that time they didn’t put The Skatalites back together and most of them migrated to the U.S. I knew Lester when he used to play with Byron Lee. He used to do my arranging for the horn section. Because of him, we started to play a lot of Ska. Harry Belafonte had a studio in the west side of Manhattan in the 60’s and Eighth Avenue that we used to use. Johnny Nash had recorded in Jamaica and a good friend of mine – Bill Garnett, was the engineer at the session. 639 Sound Studio - Hugh Hendricks’ Studio Eventually they had to close the studio and that’s when I decided to start a studio in my home in 1970-71. I went to the audio show with and bought an Ampex tape machine. They had one and at the end of the show they had one on display and they didn’t want to pack it up. I made an arrangement that the last day of the show I would purchase it with Bill Garnett. We had to make our own mixing board. I even had to use a file and a drill to make the slide for the faders. Everything was self-made in my basement. We had nothing like mixing boards like you have today where you go into Sam Ashe and buy one. I had a four-track half-inch. We would record on four tracks and then we would bounce them back down to two. Then we would record the other two, so we had six tracks out of a four-track tape. We always had that heavy bass and drum. When we took our records to master them, the engineers used to ask, “How you get so much bass on these records man?” Buccaneers Band members (At one stage, worked as a 16-piece band): Mc and conga player: Fred Tavares Singers: Bunny Rugs, Honeyboy Martin, Bunny Palamino, Patrick Gordon, Emmanuel Springer, Valentine Steelie Whitaker (keyboardist who also sang) Drums: Steve Hamilton (Jamaica, played for the Mighty Vikings), Junior Chambers (Original drummer, Belize, Drafted into Army and became a doctor), Bunny Palamino (Former Singer for HHB), Michael Tobias (Very good drummer that used to play with Sparrow. He was the guy who started the new drum beat for Soca. Hugh ended up giving him to Belafonte and he stayed for 8-9 years). “Water” from St. Vincent. Bass: Hugh Hendricks Lead Guitar/Rhythm Guitar: Joe Fry (USA), Emmanuel Hector (St Lucia), Lynford Karbi, Eric Frater, Emmanuel Springer, Julian Bevers (Original guitarist from Belize. He later became a doctor) The Buccaneers usually had a Four Horn Section: 3 original brass players - Tenor Sax: Wesley Bonito Alto Sax: Headley White Trumpet: William Rhodd Other brass players – Tenor Saxophone: Lester Sterling, Rudolph Glasco (good arranger, played alto and tenor sax), Joe Alexander (Josh’s brother). Trombone: “Wayne,” Ron Wilson (From Jamaica), Josh Alexander (from Trinidad) Trumpet: Anselm Scrubb, Oswald “Ossie” Lawson (who worked with Carlos Malcolm), William Rodd (first trumpeter), a man named “Reese,” Roy Cape (Trinidadian, maintained a big band in Trinidad for many years, also released a book), William Oxley (Sparrows guy, From Trinidad), Flugelhorn: Shake Keame (Shake was also a poet. He was from St. Vincent, was working in Germany and was asked to be Minister of Culture in St. Vincent and he did it. The government changed 2-3 years later and he was out of job. Shake came to NYC and was a teacher. Hugh hired him and he was a great arranger). Percussion: (Singers also used to play percussion) Juan Clouden (St Vincent), Patrick Gordon Keyboard: Ricky Geourzount (Original keyboardist, Hugh’s Brother in law), Owen Romeo (Guyana), Valentine Whittaker (aka Steelie). (Interview with Hugh Hendricks, 12-11-2016 by Rich Lowe) |