The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down."[1] They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
The founders of the Skatalites were musicians Doreen Shaffer, Tommy McCook (died 1998), Rolando Alphonso (died 1998), Lester Sterling (died 2023), Lloyd Brevett (died 2012), Lloyd Knibb (died 2011), Don Drummond (died 1969), Jah Jerry Haynes (died 2007), Jackie Mittoo (died 1990), and Johnny Moore (died 2008).[2] These musicians started to play together from 1955, when Kingston's recording studios started to develop. Tommy McCook was the first member of the band to record, though not for commercial release: he played with Don Hitchman's Group in 1953. Archie Lindo asked Hitchman to play a few tunes for his pioneer radio station, "ZQI", on their new equipment. Soon after that, sound system pioneer Stanley Motta began to operate his studio, where he recorded calypso and mento that were released on 78s. Rolando Alphonso was one of the first to record with him, probably in 1954.
Though McCook was the first in the band to record, he did not participate in the recording sessions with the other nine musicians. He left Jamaica in 1954 for a jazz gig at the Zanzibar Club in Nassau, Bahamas. He returned to Jamaica in June 1962, and began playing regular jazz sessions around Kingston.
Record producer Coxsone Dodd searched for jazz players around Kingston and was impressed by McCook's playing. Tommy McCook heard some ska, but initially resisted Dodd's offers to record and to lead a studio group, because he was a committed jazzman. In 1962, Dodd released I Cover The Waterfront (Port-O-Jam) with Roland Alphonso and Don Drummond, who did the solo and brass sections. In 1963, he released Jazz Jamaica From the Workshop (Port-O-Jam/Studio One), on which McCook played for the first time since returning to Jamaica. Don Drummond has two tunes on Jazz Jamaica and McCook has one, "The Answer".
The Skatalites
Early years: 1964–1965
In early 1964, a meeting was held with all the would-be Skatalites at The Odeon Theatre. It was owned by The Tawari family who owned many theatres and were offering shows to the band if they formed a band. Lord Tanamo was liked by the Tawaris and they had encouraged him to help unite the musicians that had been playing on all these hits. By this time the various members had played on so many hit songs in so many different studios by so many singers, but few people knew who was playing the instruments because no producers were putting credits on the records. At that time most of the DJs who were spinning records in public, scratched off the titles or the entire label so nobody could spy on them, and know which recording they were even playing. The musicians were tired of working so hard for so little money and so little recognition. This story, and the story of many other groups and bands in Jamaica, is the theme of the film, The Harder They Come.
They played their first show in May 1964 at the Hi-Hat club, on Water Lane in Rae Town, which was owned and operated by Orville "Billy" Farnum. It was supposed to be a rehearsal but so many people gathered around the place they decided to just charge admission and let people enjoy themselves. After that word spread like wildfire that the musicians who had been playing all the hit records for so many years had formed a band named The Skatalites. Coxsone Dodd helped initially: "At the formation of the band, I supplied the PA system, microphones and what ever it is. Also the guitar amplifier and other amplifier. I helped with transportation and I supplied storage for equipment and instruments. I was a part of promoting the first gigs and other gigs to get it off the ground, because I figured more or less, if I am recording the Skatalites, its good to get them popular out in the streets, yunno?"[3]
Trombonist Don Drummond had at least 200 tunes to his name by 1965. On 1 January 1965, Drummond was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Anita "Marguerita" Mahfood. He was later convicted and remanded to the Bellevue Asylum.
In August 1965, The Skatalites played their last show.[2] They broke up into two supergroups, Rolando Alphonso and the Soul Vendors and Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. In April 1967, The Skatalites' ska adaptation of the theme to the film The Guns of Navarone entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.[4] Don Drummond died on 6 May 1969, in the Bellevue Asylum.[2]
Early reunions: 1974–1988
The Skatalites' first reunion happened in the studio, during 1974 sessions for bass player Lloyd Brevett's solo album. After laying down hand percussion tracks at Lee Perry's studio, Brevett was joined by McCook, Alphonso, Sterling, Knibb and Mittoo. Ernest Ranglin played guitar, with Oswald Brooks on trumpet.[5] The album was eventually released as African Roots, a collection of mostly Brevett compositions, and has been variously released both as a Lloyd Brevett and as a Skatalites album, with most editions crediting "Lloyd Brevett and The Skatalites".
In 1979, The Skatalites again joined in the studio, this time to record an album for Chris Blackwell. The album, tentatively entitled The Big Guns, was not released at the time, due to a disagreement between McCook and Blackwell, and remains unreleased.[5]
In June 1983, The Skatalites reformed and played the Reggae Sunsplash festival in Montego Bay in July,[2] after festival director Ronnie Burke persuaded them to appear at the fifth anniversary of the festival, despite Moore and McCook having not spoken since the band split.[6][7] Their show was very successful,[2][8] and the band played more concerts in Jamaica, while taking offers to tour abroad. The line-up at this time reflected the original line-up of the band, with the exception of Drummond, and joined by guests Arnold Breckenridge and Bubbles Cameron.[9] Recordings from 27 June and 17 July 1983 were released on the live album Stretching Out,[2] although the band later claimed on their website that they received no payment for this recording and discouraged fans from buying it.
During their 1983 rehearsals for Sunsplash, the band recorded eleven tracks at the newly opened Music Mountain studio, led this time by Jackie Mittoo and under the guidance of producer/promoter Tony Owens. After five days of recording, the sessions were abandoned after the members apparently fell out with one another. Nine completed tracks were eventually released in 2007 on Motion Records as Rolling Steady: The 1983 Music Mountain Sessions.[10] The album included their tribute to Don Drummond, "Big Trombone", with Lord Tanamo on vocals.
In April 1984, the same lineup, but without Mittoo, recorded The Return of The Big Guns, released on Mango Records in the UK, with several tracks based on charts written by Drummond and arranged by McCook. On 7 July 1984, The Skatalites played to thousands at Selhurst Park during the London Sunsplash. The Skatalites played seven tunes and also backed Prince Buster on three before closing with a reprise of their theme song, "Freedom Sounds." This performance was later released as a live album called Live at Sunsplash but is very rare.
Between 1985 and 1988, the core members of the Skatalites emigrated and united in the northeast of the United States. They played their first US concert at The Village Gate and began to play spotted dates in Northeast US.
1986–present
The Skatalites began emigrating to the US since the 1970s Eventually enough members had arrived that enabled them to book a few shows beginning with shows in 1986 in New York City. It took a few years before they actually started touring the US in 1989 as support act for their old friend Bunny Wailer's Liberation Tour from coast to coast including Radio City Music Hall, Irvine Meadows, The Music Hall in Boston and many other prestigious venues. In early 1990 the band emerged on the market officially on the first headline tour from NYC to California and back. They were always working on new music but the first official record deal in US was with Shanachie and they released Skavoovee, Grammy nominated Hi-Bop Ska, and Grammy nominated Greetings from Skamania. The next release was Ball of Fire in 1997 on Island Records. A "Best of The Skatalites" type release was done by Heartbeat Records the same year, entitled Foundation Ska. In 2000 they recorded an album with all newly composed material by each member entitled Bashaka. In 2001 they recorded From Paris With Love. In 2004 The Skatalites were featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, and Ken Boothe.[11] Later that year, original member Lloyd Brevett left the band. In April that year, the Skatalites started a new world tour with their new bass player Val Douglas, whose A-Team band was the primary backing band for Reggae Sunsplash Tours through the 1980s and 1990s. In October 2005, The Skatalites released The Skatalites in Orbit, Vol.1 recorded live in Buenos Aires, recorded during concerts on 23 and 24 September 2005. In March 2006, The Skatalites played at La Bal De La Rose for Caroline, Princess of Hanover, along with Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers and Alpha Blondy. This show started the 2006 Global Orbit Tour reaching Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina. In April 2006, Skatalites recorded 11 new tunes and one cover in Byron Bay, Australia, at the 301 Studios, released the following year as the album On The Right Track by AIM International, Australia. In September 2007, The Skatalites contributed the track "Be My Guest," with Ben Harper on vocals, to the Fats Domino tribute CD Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino featuring numerous artists. This CD raised funds for all the musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.
On 12 May 2011, founding member and drummer Lloyd Knibb died at the age of 80. Bass player and fellow founding member Lloyd Brevett died after suffering a stroke on 3 May 2012, aged 80.[12]
On 8 February 2012, the band announced a new single and album as well as a US tour starting in Texas and heading to New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, California, Washington, and then Canada. These dates follow four dates they announced in January for the North East. The album All Roads featured the last recordings of founding member Lloyd Knibb.
On 26 August 2016, the band released the album Platinum Ska, and toured through the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Although not official band members, these musicians worked with the Skatalites extensively during the 1964-65 period in the recording studio, or in the case of the vocalists, at live shows.[13] Lord Tanamo, Doreen Shaffer, Baba Brooks, and Ernest Ranglin have all worked with the reunited Skatalites at different times, both live and in the studio.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall.
Donat Roy Mittoo, better known as Jackie Mittoo, was a Jamaican-Canadian keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a member of The Skatalites and musical director of the Studio One record label.
Lester "Ska" Sterling OD, also known as Mr. Versatile, was a Jamaican trumpet and saxophone player.
Stubborn All-Stars are an American, New York City-based ska band led by King Django, front man of Skinnerbox and owner of Stubborn Records.
Dr. Ring Ding is a German reggae, ska and dancehall artist.
Derrick Morgan is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.
The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett, Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton. Renford Cogle assisted with writing and arranging material.
Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonsoa.k.a. "The Chief Musician" was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites.
Ska jazz is a music genre derived by fusing the melodic content of jazz with the rhythmic and harmonic content of early Jamaican Music introduced by the "Fathers of Ska" in the late 1950s. The ska-jazz movement began during the 1990s in New York and London, where pioneering avant-garde jazz and reggae musicians pushed the boundaries of reggae music. They were combining traditions with modern tendencies, using the reggae beat along with high improvisation and jazz harmonies, primarily by horns and percussion.
Lloyd Knibb OD was a Jamaican drummer who is considered Jamaica's most important and influential modern drummer. A master percussionist, he contributed to every style of this nation's popular and not so popular musical forms, including jazz, mento, burru, nyabinghi, rock steady and, by extension, reggae. He is most well known for his contribution to the development of the rhythm of the ska. He played for The Skatalites, and for Tommy McCook & The Supersonics. Knibb recorded for the producers Lloyd "Matador" Daley and Duke Reid.
Joseph Abraham Gordon, better known as Lord Tanamo, was a Jamaican-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his mento and ska work.
Cedric "Im" Brooks was a Jamaican saxophonist and flautist known for his solo recordings and as a member of The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, The Sound Dimensions, Divine Light, The Light of Saba, and The Skatalites.
John Arlington "Dizzy" Moore OD was a Jamaican trumpet player and founding member of pioneering Jamaican ska and reggae act The Skatalites.
Lloyd Brevett OD was a Jamaican double bassist, songwriter, and a founding member of The Skatalites. He was a Rastafarian, and the uncle of The Melodians member, Tony Brevett.
Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes OD was a Jamaican guitarist and former member of The Skatalites.
Clue J & His Blues Blasters were a Jamaican band of the late 1950s and early 1960s led by Cluett Johnson, who were one of the first bands to play ska. Several of the band's members went on to join The Skatalites.
The Blue Riddim Band was a Kansas City, Missouri-based reggae band and the first US-based group to play at Jamaica's Reggae Sunsplash festival, which they did in August 1982. (6). The recording of the group's 1982 Sunsplash performance was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1986. (2)
"Guns Of Navarone" is the theme music and song of the 1961 film of the same name. The music was written by Dimitri Tiomkin for the film, the soundtrack of which was released in 1961. A number of orchestral recordings have been released by various artists and appeared in various charts. Lyrics were added by Paul Francis Webster, and various vocal version have also been recorded including one by the Jamaican group the Skatalites whose single was released in 1965, and reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967.
Dennis Sindrey is an Australian-born calypso, mento, Jamaican shuffle and ska singer, songwriter and guitarist.
References
↑ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1sted.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p.350. ISBN1-904041-96-5.
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