Re Carlos Malcolm’s book on postwar WWII Jamaican music: This is a most welcome addition to the admittedly slim bookshelf of works about a small country's considerable contribution to the world's music. It's a personal journal of Malcolm's influential part in the development of modern Jamaican music and broadcasting at the unfortunately now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. Only one minor cavil -- perhaps Malcolm could have given us a more detailed narrative about the development of Jamaican music from mento, ska, rock steady, reggae and later forms. Otherwise, a worthwhile read -- I found it engrossing for the couple of days it took to finish this fascinating book.
Keeble McFarlane Keeble McFarlane
Journalist and Broadcaster (retired)
August 3, 2018 ... See more

Children are our future. They constantly observe our actions (good or bad}, and duplicate them. It is therefore incumbent on parents to ’live by example’ for welfare of their children and encourage them to make appropriate choices in Life’s challenges. ‘Dead-beat’ dads/moms, who walk away from their parental responsibilities are nemeses in many societies. However, there are many young parents (especially single women). who want the ‘best’ for their children but lack resources and /or information to do so. Music is the gateway to critical thinking and a catalyst to the learning process in children. To assist in possible solutions, I have developed a system of educational modules named ‘bak2bay6-with a Musical Twist’. The modules carry a collection of original ‘fun-learning’ songs on general education with ‘rote-learning’ rap music drum-beats, review exercises, the rudiments of critical thinking, and the basics of reading musical symbols. Modules will be available next year. Into the Light. ... See more

Camille, although confronted by distractions which attempt to block them from achieving goals, winners are never discouraged and never give up. With self-assurance and conviction, they strive through the pain of impending failures and defeat and never give in. Eventually, via persistence, they overcome most, if not all, distractions and achieve goals. Remember this: In Life, PAIN is inevitable but MISERY is a CHOICE. Into the Light ... See more

Sid, your mention of Bournemouth Club brings back some pleasant thoughts to mind. One such occasion, I mentioned in my book. “On Wednesday evenings after school, kids from all over Kingston (including B. Marley & Wailers) gathered downstairs Bournemouth Club in the parking lot, where some played football (in the gravel of the parking lot), with a green ‘civil orange’, awaiting their turn to audition for the "Wednesday-nite Amateur Contest". The competition of three prizes was sponsored by my band, Carlos Malcolm and his Afro Jamaican Rhythms. Many contestants were students of elementary schools, (some located as far away as downtown Kingston) and walked through East Queen Street onto Windward Road then all the way down Sea View Ave. to Bournemouth Gardens - of over five miles. I remember one occasion in which Bob Marley was probably kicked on the shin during a game, immediately before the turn came for his singing group, Bob Marley and the Wailers were summoned to come upstairs and sing to me (acapella), the song they had selected for the competition. As I did for the other contestants, I would prepare a simple musical arrangement for the Wailers’ presentations. Observing that my list had whittled down to the Wailers and hearing me announce from the bandstand, “mmm…Wailers are next”, a chorus of young contestants, eagerly awaiting their turn to enter and win a prize, scampered halfway down to the first level of the Bournemouth Club two-platform stairs, and shouted into the parking lot, “Wee-aa-laz!’... Wee-aa-laz…dem wan’ yuh up-stee-a-a-z!”. In his khaki school uniform, Bob came jogging up the stairs, leading the group. One pant of his trousers was rolled up beyond the shin. He had tied a white handkerchief around the shin, which was still bleeding slightly from the kick he received in the game.
Totally ignoring the injury, Bob and the Wailers presented their song and performed that evening. Bob and the Wailers had not yet experienced their ‘epiphany’ and so, as did the other local groups, the Wailers selected ‘cover’ music from American pop music. At that point in time (circa 1960s), the music of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand dominated Jamaican pop music. Nearly all singing groups in Jamaica aspired to duplicate, to perfection, the recordings of American bands and singers. Everyone vied for the quintessential ‘blessing’ from their loyal, appreciating fans: “Dem good, yuh see, dem soun’ jus’ like de recaad!”” Excerpt from “Post War Jamaican Music – From New Orleans Jazz/Blues to Jamaican Reggae by Carlos Malcolm” available at amazon.com ... See more

Harold, regarding the members of my orchestra, I have had the good fortune of writing musical arrangements for some of the best trained, able and talented musicians in Jamaica during the early 1960s. Most were ex-members of the Jamaica Military Band or the Police Band. All were excellent sight-readers and could execute my arrangements with the first reading: At rehearsals, I treated music as a language and encouraged players to approach it in this context. I scored all the music in the band’s repertoire and coming from the level of music played in the JMB and the PCB, everyone read fluently.
The following instrumentalists presently come to mind:
TRUMPET: Winston Turner, Ozzie Lawson, Dilly Abrahams, and Al Francis. ALTO SAX: Cpl. Joe Williams (who went on to conduct the Jamaica Military Band), James Lee, Karl (Cannonball) Bryan (also Clarinet), TENOR SAX: Orville Lynch, Les Samuels, Gladstone Sterling, ‘Im Brooks, Roland Alfonso, PIANO: Charlie Clarke, GUITAR: Trevor Lopez, Bunny Cunningham, BASS: Audley Williams (also vibraphone), Larry Woolery, Boris Gardiner, CONGA DRUMS: Noel Seale, Jerome Walters, Larry McDonald, DRUMS (TRAPS): Freddie Campbell, Winston (Sparrow) Martin, LIGHT PERCUSSION: Alfonso Castro, Lascelles Perkins SINGERS: Claudette Brown, Lascelles Perkins, Winston Francis and the Sheridans, Joe Higgs, Derrick Harriott, Trevor Lopez, Boris Gardiner, (Music) COPYISTS: Joe Williams, Karl Bryan. MCEES: Adrian Robinson, Winston (the Whip)Williams. One or two names might have fallen through the cracks. This was some time ago. ... See more

Carlos Malcolm OD
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YouTube
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Lola, I am presently engaged in passing on to youths the basic elements of critical thinking and using them to 'think things through before acting. In bak2bay6-with a Musical Twist", the program I devised. All instruction is conveyed by 'fun-learning' modules which deal with the basic elements of English, Music and Mathematics. Here's "There're Eight Parts of Speech". Children love to sing it and usually memorize it easily. Into the Light.

YOUTUBE.COM
Teach the Children - "They're are 8 parts of Speech"
Bak2bay6-with a Musical Twist’ reinforces teaching methods of the traditional classroom. It is a unique,… ... See more

The hidden story of “Rum and CocaCola “ presents another classical example of a yet unattended issue of vulnerability, which continues to exist between Caribbean composers of songs and other creative projects, and the rapacious behavior of those who hunt and with foreknowledge of unprotected international copyrights. This story takes us back to WWII when the U.S. armed forces initiated programs to entertain its personnel, dispersed in many countries of the world.
On August 1, 1942, three months before the U.S. entered WWII, the American Federation of Musicians Union under James Petrillo, president, mounted a strike against the recording industry over royalty payments, banning all commercial recording by AFM members. This shut down the flow of royalty payments. On December 7th, the United States entered WWII. The draft into the U.S. armed forces dispersed many young Americans overseas. Actions were introduced to keep armed forces personnel entertained, i.e. V-discs, which were non-commercial recordings of U.S. bands and radio shows, made exclusively for broadcast by U.S. armed forces radio stations located on military bases, internationally. The AFM strike was eventually resolved but many USO (United States Overseas) pre-arranged shows involving personal appearances of U.S. live performers, lasted into a few months after WWII, ending in 1945. There was then a strong American military presence in Trinidad because of the oil fields.
A Trinidadian calypso singer named Lord Invader composed and recorded a calypso he named “Rum and Coca Cola’. The song became a hit in the island of Trinidad. A certain (un-named) comedian, who later became famous as a regular on the “Dick van Dyke Show”, went to Trinidad with a troupe of entertainers from the USO to perform for military personnel stationed on the island. The comedian heard “Rum and Coca Cola“, was impressed with the calypso and carried a recording of the song back to the U.S. He and his attorney registered Lord Invader’s composition with the U.S. Office of Copyrights. Such nefarious individuals profit from their knowledge of the function ability of international copyrights and intellectual properties to generate passive, residual income.

Via connections, in 1946, “Rum and Coca Cola“ was recorded by Decca Records with the famous Andrew Sisters. The recording was a resounding hit, resuscitating the inactivity of cash flow at Decca Records, and strengthening the weaknesses suffered by the AFM from the strike they had imposed. The song “Rum and Coca Cola“ generated handsome residuals for the ‘official registered owners’ acknowledged by the register of U.S. copyright office in Washington D.C.. Legal representatives of Lord Invader sued but litigation dragged on for over a decade.

Eventually, a paltry nuisance payment of $10,000.00 (not enough to cover the legal fees) was made to the legal representatives of Lord Invader. The award was made shortly before Invader’s death. The marketplace of commercial music is littered with ‘professional parasites’, who feed on unprotected copyrights and other intellectual properties of creators and composers lacking knowledge of how to protect their works from the machinations of the copyright and trade mark industry. Into the Light. ... See more