Rulers of the 60s

Rulers of the ?60s

The Jamaicans belong to an exclusive fraternity of Jamaican rocksteady vocal groups of the mid-1960s that included The Paragons, The Heptones, The Wailers, The Melodians, The Gaylads, and The Maytals ? all of whom have been extensively profiled in previous articles.

The title, Jamaicans, was entrusted upon the group, almost by prophetic intervention, when a Canadian shipping agent, Mr McKeachron, who became their manager, suggested a name change from The Merricoles to The Jamaicans. McKeachron came up with the idea after hearing the group perform and predicted that they would become great. He also prophesied that one day, Jamaican music would become recognised worldwide, and by changing their name to The Jamaicans, they would perhaps be the first to be identified with that revolution.

Right on the heels of his graduation from Kingston College in 1964, Norris Weir, the writer and lead vocalist of the group, conceptualised the idea of forming the group, which was first known as The Merricoles.

Operating as the bass singer, Weir, at the outset, was accompanied by Errol Kong and Jerry Brown, with teacher Martin Williams joining shortly after, fulfilling the double-role of harmony tutor and group member. Performing mainly doo-wop and R&B songs in the early stages, they performed at places like Maxfield Avenue?s Kitty-Mat Club, The Bournemouth, and Club Havana in east Kingston.

It was while doing a gig

at St Hugh?s High School that Tommy Cowan, who was on the same bill, met The Merricoles.

?We did a concert at St Hughs High School and Norris had a group together, and they invited me to join them,? Cowan said.

AUDITION

Getting into the recording studios under their new name ? The Jamaicans ? they did Chain Gang and Waited So Long for Studio 1 in 1966 before moving

to producer Duke Reid for an audition. Cowan said that they had prepared two songs ? Dedicate My Song and You Don?t Care ? but the producer requested that the latter be given to The Techniques after realising that The Jamaicans had another song titled Things You Say You Love, You?re Gonna Loose. This late 1966 recording, written by Weir, topped the Jamaican charts in 1967, and along with the festival winner, Ba Ba Boom,

of that same year, they became

the biggest hits for the group. Interestingly, Ba Ba Boom, also written by Weir, was a big seller overseas, while Things You Say You Love, You?re Gonna Loose was successfully covered by the group UB-40.

With Owen ?Flats? Hylton, another Kingston College graduate, replacing Kong, the quartet of Weir, Cowan, Williams, and Hylton was well on its way to creating musical history with a series of chart toppers.

Weir, who up until this point, had maintained his position as the bass singer, was forced into the lead-singing role during the recording of Ba Ba Boom. He explained to me in an interview: ?Flats Hylton was supposed to sing lead, with me doing the bass part ? ?Boom, boom, Festival boom? ? but somehow the Duke was not satisfied with what he was hearing and finally exclaimed, ?Bassie, why you just don?t sing the song?? I ended up singing both lead and bass, and from there onwards, I led on most of the songs.?

Weir said: ?Ba Ba Boom spoke directly to the Festival of 1967:

?Everybody get ready,

It?s time to rocksteady,

It?s ba ba boom time, yes it is.

Don?t lose the beat now,

Just dip your hip now

Festival five is here.??

COOL GEMS

The Jamaicans were certainly not in unfamiliar waters when they won Festival Five in 1967 as they also won the National Amateur Festival Song competition twice in previous years, with the titled cuts So Long and Ma and Pa. They consolidated their position as one of the top rocksteady/reggae groups with such gems as Cool Night for the W.I.R.L. label, and Take Warning, Are You Mine?, and I Believe in Music for Dynamic Sounds.

The group also did some recordings for producer Harry J., while they continued to decorate their catalogue with the recordings Black Girl in the Ring, Love Uprising, Feel the Festival Spirit, Mr Lonely, and Dedicate My Song, which was expertly performed by Owen Hylton before his departure between 1966 and 1967, reducing the group to a trio.

Back at Duke Reid?s Treasure Isle Records, The Jamaicans continued their musical onslaught in 1967 with Woman Go Home and Peace and Love, backed by Tommy McCook and The Supersonics. In the latter piece, they pleaded to world leaders for peace as they sang:

?The leaders of the world are studying war,

But we want love, peace and love.

The people of the world are looking for love,

Don?t want no war, oh no war.?

Unlike many of their contemporaries, The Jamaicans remain active in their various endeavours. Cowan is currently involved in several entertainment productions, including the very popular Fun in the Son gospel festival, and the Denbigh Agricultural Show.

A master of ceremonies extraordinaire, with his signature toasting words, ?Yes, indeed!?, Cowan formed his own company, Talent Corporation, in the mid-1960s, and took on the task of a management-booking agency. Earlier, he helped popular band leader Byron Lee to set up Dynamic Sounds, producing the likes of Eric Donaldson, Toots and the Maytals, Keith Lyn, and Vic Taylor.

A schoolmate of mine, Weir migrated to the United States of America shortly after the group disbanded and is now an ordained minister with the accompanied insignia of PhD, MA, and BA in theology. He now works as a singing missionary evangelist, whose job takes him around the world. He is the recipient of several outstanding international awards, including a Gospel Hall of Fame inductee award.

Williams, who teamed up with Derrick Brown to create the number one Jamaican blues Times Are Going in the late 1950s and who helped to polish

the group?s harmony skills,

is currently working as a percussionist with the Harmoniser Mento Band.

Although the members of The Jamaicans became inactive in studio after 1974, they still maintain close ties with each other and have collectively expressed a wish to record again.

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