JAVAA inducts third set into Jamaica Music Hall of Fame

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Speaking at last Wednesday's third Jamaica Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) chairman Franklyn Campbell, OD, noted that "out of this set we are honouring, only two are still with us".

'With us', in that context, meant alive. Still, the two living honourees, Burning Spear and Toots and the Maytals, were not 'with us' at the Mayfair Hotel either, this being the peak summer reggae season, and the pair being troopers of the touring circuit.

Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, a fourth inductee on Wednesday night, is also alive.

However, there was a living connection with Spear's St Ann roots, as his plaque was collected by the sons of sound system operator and producer Jack Ruby, who helped shape Spear's seminal 1975 album Marcus Garvey.

Kong's brother collects

And in one of the ceremony's more historically potent moments, producer Leslie Kong's honours were collected by his brother Father Kenneth Kong.

The other five 2010 inductees are Desmond Dekker and the Aces, the Blues Busters, Don Drummond, Jackie Edwards, Jackie Mittoo and Delroy Wilson. Marie Francis read the citations at the induction ceremony, hosted by Norma Brown-Bell.

Spear was identified as "one of the few reggae pioneers still working and influencing countless people today", while Wilson is "regarded as one of Jamaica's best vocal stylists of all time". "Desmond Dekker and the Aces had the distinction of being the first Jamaican artistes to have a hit record in the USA without altering its purely Jamaican form and style", Don Drummond was "rated among the world's top five trombone players", Island Records was "at one time, the largest Indie record label in history" and Wilfred Gerald 'Jackie' Edwards "was as versatile a performer, and as good a songwriter, as the island ever produced", Francis read.

Donat Roy 'Jackie' Mittoo was "perhaps one of Jamaica's unsung heroes of the music business ... who began playing the keyboard professionally at age 13", Leslie Kong funded Jimmy Cliff's recording Dearest Beverley, and also released the first two recordings featuring Bob Marley, while the Blues Busters were "lauded by Sam Cooke and Otis Redding as true greats, and, reportedly, Marley's favourite group", while Toots and the Maytals "hold the record for the most number-one hits in Jamaica, with a total of 31".

Historical preservation

Guest speaker Clyde McKenzie, in a wide-ranging and deeply appreciated address, spoke to the importance of historical preservation.

"When we lose memory, we lose context, because we lose the ability to assess where we are going and where we are coming from. It is important for people to understand the shoulders on which they stand," McKenzie said.

"Too often, people coming into a business thinking that it starts and ends with them."

He called for government support of the event and process, saying "this that we are dealing with, this Jamaica Music Hall of Fame, is something that is deserving of not only private sector contribution and support, but also the state".

And he underscored the need to record things, as "although we are great at making records, we do not record things well. We are not good record keepers".