Home at last - First Music Hall-of-Fame inductees finally placed

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Nearly two years after the first induction ceremony, close to a year after the plaques were made and a week after the third set of inductees were named, the plaques for the initial 12 inductees into the Jamaica Music Hall of Fame were unveiled at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre, St Andrew, on Saturday morning.

The time lags have been caused by a lack of space for the Hall of Fame, though on Saturday, it was made clear that utilisation of the Centre does not preclude finding a permanent home to expand the exhibits. And Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) chairman, Frankie Campbell, outlined an installation schedule which would see the gap between induction and mounting of the honoree's plaque narrowed, and then eliminated by the fourth induction ceremony next year.

The Hall of Fame logo takes front and centre place, with plaques for Alpha Boys' School, Louise Bennett-Coverley, Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd, Vere Johns, Olive Lewin, Derrick Morgan, Ernest Ranglin, Arthur Reid, The Skatalites, Norman Thomas, The Wailers and Oswald Williams on either side. Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Olivia 'Babsy' Grange pulled the strings to strip away the covering and display the plaques to the public.

Before the unveiling came the speeches, principal director of culture at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Sydney Bartley hosting the formalities. So after music by Tres Dolce band, from St Richard's Primary School on Red Hills Road, Ras Mandito preached a sometimes fiery sermon, grounded in Isaiah 60:22, stating firmly that "the great little nation" it refers to is Jamaica. "We may be late, but JAVAA has lit a flame," Mandito said. "We can't let that flame go out."

Mike Henry greeted all in the name of Jah, Rastafari, citing the importance of siting the plaques in the centre and their potential influence on the young. He noted that the majority of persons who pass through the centre were students going to and from school, and it was hoped that they would draw inspiration from the inductees and their stories.

"We need to draw on the better elements of our country, and the music does that," Henry said.

Grange spoke extensively to developments in the Jamaica Music Museum and said that "memory is important to maintain that desire to sustain development". In that context, therefore, Grange said "today we salute giants who believed in our music and our culture when other people thought it was 'buggu yagga' music".

There was laughter when Campbell thanked in advance "the government, which will be helping us financially". He said, "Eventually we will have a real Hall of Fame, but we will keep the plaques here. It can be a tourist attraction. I know a lot of Japanese and Europeans will be coming to view the plaques".