IT IS WAY PAST TIME FOR A JAMAICA MUSIC HALL OF FAME

Painting: Birth of Legends 

The past eighteen months have been extremely savage on the Jamaica music fraternity, and even more so on the country’s entertainment sector. Separate from the economic savaging brought on by the pandemic, the specter of death has laid its heavy hand on the community, taking out Bob Andy, Toots Hibbert, Millie Small, Ewart “U-Roy” Beckford, Bunny “Striker” Lee, Bunny Wailer, Dobby Dobson, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Purple Man, Derrick Lara (Tamlins), Dolphin “Naggo” Morris (Heptones), and Apple Gabriel (Israel Vibrations) among others. When added to the roster of other contributors over the years, what we are seeing is a dramatic depletion of contributors to the history of our music. What is especially worrisome is the fact that with their passing, most of these contributors have had very little documentation done of the stories that would have authored the input they have made.

As I write this, I can vividly recall the way I felt when the news came that Alton Ellis passed in October 2008. I was in London at the time and despite my best efforts, I could not disentangle the knot that formed in my stomach. It did not help a few years later when news broke that John Kenneth Holt (OD), had passed. I was aware that both had been ill but not that their illness had become so severe. In any event, the passing of both represented a cumulative loss of nearly eighty years of the history of Jamaica’s music and it was this realization that has since driven my interest in Jamaica’s music and in later years propelling the startup of not only the Sunday Scoops program, but also led to the establishment of Yaawd Media Inc and yaawdmedia.com

As a small island with a population of just under three million people, Jamaica punches phenomenally above its weight in the global music sphere. It is an exceptional feat that in the last 73 years we have gifted to the world (courtesy of our artistes) a minimum of six genres of music: Mento, Ska, Nyabinghi, Rock Steady, Reggae, and Dancehall. Our artistes have flown our flag at every curve of the globe. From our best-known son Robert Nesta Marley, James (Jimmy Cliff) Chambers, Millie Small, Desmond Dekker, Toots Hibbert, and the Maytals; Alton Ellis, Dennis Emanuel Brown, Augustus Pablo, the Mighty U Roy; from Shabba Ranks to Damien (Junior Gong) Marley…just to name a few; Jamaicans have over the period pioneered different sounds and at each juncture, established newer and newer directions in the global music sphere.

Musicians and artistes though are mortals and over time they Robert Nesta Marley (and some of the others named) will pass on as we all must. In the circumstances, it is our responsibility as a nation is to be reminded of the exploits of these pioneering men and women and to constantly celebrate their achievements. I believe that the time has come to establish a Museum of Jamaican Music where the exploits of these greats will be celebrated in perpetuity.

I am calling on the Nation; from the Ministry of Culture to the Jamaican Private Sector; from the Jamaica Tourist Board to the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and all other interested parties to come together and give life to such a project.

Jamaica is the home of Reggae music as it is to Ska, Rock Steady, DJ, and Dancehall; and we must use this occasion of the Covid-19 pandemic to immortalize these creations. Many countries only dream about the kind of accomplishments that we have as Jamaicans and make every effort to celebrate the very little that they have. We on the other hand have received many blessings in the form of the legions of great individuals that have helped to shape our music culture, yet we do very little with those gifts.

I believe that a Museum of Jamaican Music would make for a phenomenal tourist attraction, and I believe that such an attraction will provide inspiration for thousands of other Jamaicans as well as provide an excellent source of revenues in addition to providing increased exposure as to the diversity of our people.

The time for its creation has come. 

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog, please leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we appreciate your feedback. We also invite you to check Sunday Scoops our Jamaican music streaming and commentary program every Sunday from 2-4pm on yaawdmedia.com feel free to share with your friends.