Choosing the right song... the key to becoming a legend

Krista Henry and Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writers

E.T. Webster and Beres Hammond were given Lifetime Achievement awards for their contribution to music. How have they done it?

Reggae Sumfest is over and artistes will go back to ploughing through studio time in a bid to get things right, touring, producing, and, in general, looking for that ingredient that will take them into the rarified atmosphere of legends.

According to Mikey Bennett, when an artiste puts out an album "you must show some signs of growth".

And, in order to do that, he said, the best possible team must be assembled to support the product - which has to start with a sound concept.

Bennett remembers submitting a song to United States (US) group The Temptations - and it was one of 128 they were going through to make their choice. Then there was US rapper LL Cool J, with whom Bennett also did some tracks.

"He had recorded over 40 tracks, to choose about 10," Bennett said.

"It is better to not put out a song than to put out a bad song."

Bennett said there are those artistes who limit their output and "we look forward to their albums".

Industry flaw

However, he points to a flaw in the music-dissemination process which does not facilitate quality control.

"It too easy to get things on radio. That is the bottom line," Bennett said. This is in a situation where record sales are down and the public does not have that yardstick to establish what is really popular.

So Bennett paints the scenario of a producer who creates a song and sends it to a radio disc jock in MP3 format. There is no need to print a label, cut a stamper - or go through a programme director to get the music on air.

Plus, with many producers intent on getting the few outstanding artistes to record for them, Bennett said a lot of young producers do not have the respect of the top artistes.

Hence, the performers do not put much effort into the recordings, "so a lot of the songs are not being produced properly".

He points out that, in the US, the relationship between radio and record labels is different, where the label will specify the songs they wish to focus on. In Jamaica, however, there isn't that kind of understanding, so many times a performer does not develop a defining song, as many are played on radio simultaneously.

And Bennett maintains that not even the greats like Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon can write a great song every year. A good approach is to treat each release as if it could be the last.

So the question is, Bennett said, "if I had one more song to put out, would it be this song?"