Jamaica Music Bands History, outside of Kingston?

[TDowl]

Can you give me names of bands from your town or Parish?

[Gamma]

Toots and the Maytals

[Islandman]

Was that a band or a group?

[Assasin]

Jolly boys from Port Antonio. We had a lot of mento bands and there was a band who use to play at Roof club in Port Antonio who went on to be a major band but the name slipped me right now.

Many of the bands in the rural area was around Ochi/St Mary, Mobay and Portie hotel destination. A lot of current musicians play this including Luciano, Gem Myers, Harold Butler, Diana King and many others. You have a lot of band out of Ochi area including Natural High, City Heat and Native to name a few.

This schene is still very vibrant (Port Antonio to lesser extent} and continue to produce some quality. A new thing is the dead yard bands which give an upcoming musician a chance to play their stuff and develop.

[HL]

"...dead yard band........". ..
Assasin you are too funnY !!

[Assasin]

HL trust me. The fiest time I came across it was 4 years ago when I went to my Grandmother's funeral. A 3 piece band string up and trust mi, it was all night till daylight. I understand when you making your funeral arrangement a band is offered. They start out playing christian songs and regular dead yard tune. Haff in the night, things breakout, it was a culture shock to me.

There are many of these little 3 and 4 piece band playing dead yard. It gives a young musician a chance to practice and and start out and graduate to bigger things.

[TDowl]

Sass, HL nuh know what he is missing, matter of fact if the Dead Yard band is in Lucea, you better not have a function, cause it will get cramp, another thing they hardly take breaks, and breaks will not be long.

[Historian]

Interesting Question

Can you give me names of bands from your town or Parish?

TDowl, this is an interesting but very challenging question. The fact is that the popular bands invariably tended to originate in Kingston, where the recording studios were located. As far as solo singers and singing groups are concerned, there were several from rural parishes. The same goes for mento bands.

In the case of popular bands, I can only think of two at the moment:
Native (from Ocho Rios);
Tomorrow’s Children (Manchester, if my memory is correct here).

[Assasin]

A same thing mi brethren tell me. It was a culture shock to me. Yeah man no break at all

[TDowl]

Mandeville, Thunder Birds, I knew some of the guys who form this band such as Scratchy Hammond.

Sav La Mar, Mighty Quinn, Eugene Grey.

Lucea Serenaders, Eugene Grey, Ikey Bennett, Bones Atkinson. This was the backing band at the time for Niney, Mighty Pope, Lewis(JBC).

Falmouth, Mr Wells Orchestra.

Mo Bay Lance Thelwell and the Celestials, Billy Vernon...

[HL]

...Hurry Hurry (Sinclair Bargin Center) had a band in Sav-la Mar.

Also, a Chiney Man (Williams) lived on Dalling St [near a supermarket owned by the Tinglings] also had a band. Trescot James played keyboards....

Darn, I am getting old...this was such a long time ago!!

[USAF]

How about the Twinkle Brothers from Falmouth???.....Was introduced to them in the late '70s.