CH-08: Gaps in Coverage in Goddard's Account

EDITOR'S EPILOGUE
by Dr Roy D Thomas
1991 George Goddard Forty Years in the Steelbands: 1939 - 1979
Gaps in Coverage in Goddard's Account

   Goddard's account concentrates on those years when he was at the centre of steelband affairs either as president of the steelbands organisation or in some other official post. There were periods when Goddard was not in the steelband movement limelight (invariably beginning with one of his resignations and ending with re-election); the events of these periods do not get much attention in his account. There is another important 'time gap' in the coverage of Goddard's account – the years after 1979. It was in 1979 that he finally withdrew from steelband affairs. Since 1979, steelband affairs have been no less exciting and no less controversial than previous years.

   In Goddard's account one can pick out themes which reflect his awareness of the socio-economic factors and forces which have adversely affected the quality of existence of steelbandsmen. One of these themes is the social ostracism to which steelbandsmen have been subjected. Another is the economic pressure from poverty and unemployment which many of them have experienced.

   Apart from social ostracism and economic deprivation there are many more topics that would have to be examined in any comprehensive account of the development of the steelband movement, for example:

Instrumentation (evolution of pan from four-note kettle drum through the 'ping pong' to modern chromed instruments like the double tenor)
Musicology (the influence of Classical, Latin and Jazz genres in pan music)
Discography (the selections that steelbands recorded and the dates of the recordings)

   Thus, while Goddard's contribution to the story of the steelbands is a very important one, it must also be conceded that there are 'time gaps' and 'theme gaps' in his account. I make these points about gaps in Goddard's contribution, not to devalue its importance (his account was never intended to be comprehensive) but to point to the rich possibilities for future research on the steelbands.

   Since Goddard's written sources were largely confined to the Trinidad newspapers, an obvious question is whether he left out of consideration any secondary sources on any aspect of the steelbands which would have enriched his narrative if he had used them. One can identify a few such pieces, which cast some light on areas where Goddard's account could do with some more details. One such area is the social context in which the steelband evolved. Another area can be labelled musicology of the steelband (including the evolution of instruments and techniques), and discography.

   As regards the social context, we have seen that in his chapter on the origins of the steelband, Goddard did refer briefly to Jeffrey Ross Thomas' thesis⁽¹⁾, Errol Hill's book⁽²⁾ and Anthony Roof's booklet⁽³⁾; all of which have some discussion of the social context of the steelband. However, apparently, JD Elder's From Congo Drum to Steelband: A socio-historic account of the emergence and evolution of the Trinidad steel Orchestra⁽⁴⁾ escaped Goddard's notice. Elder's study is perhaps the most substantial in the category. Also apparently escaping Goddard's attention is Judith Weller's profile of a steelband of early 1950s whose members were middle class youths of a residential district of Port of Spain⁽⁵⁾. Weller's study provides some depth to the themes of class distinction and social dynamics of a steelband, "Rhythm and Blues", (which would be recognised by the cognoscenti as Dixieland steelband).

   As regards musicology of the steelbands, apart from the GA Prospect's Practical Tutor Series⁽⁶⁾, one can identify three articles which provide rather more information than Goddard does on the instrumentation: DF Kerr, "Music of Pans", a 1959 Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board Information Bulletin⁽⁷⁾; Louis C Smith, The First Textbook on Steel Band⁽⁸⁾ (which has a particularly useful section explaining the arrangement of the notes); and The Steel Drums of Kim Loy Wong⁽⁹⁾ by the singer-folklorist Pete Seeger. The latter monograph, produced in 1961, has a useful section on discography. Goddard did refer to the booklet by Anthony Rouff, Authentic Facts on the Origin of the Steelband which lists the instruments of the early 1940s: the four-note 'grumbler' or balay, the two-note dudup or bass-kettle, the kettle drum and the 'ping pong', guitar, cello, and bass-boom or slap-bass.

   If Goddard had undertaken the task of providing more details on the instrumentation he would have had to start with a listing like DF Kerr's (mentioned above), and he would have had to interview tuners in depth. Such an approach would have underlined the importance of the more brilliant innovations such as "Spree" Simon's 'ping pong' with separate notes from raised (convex) groves on the surface; and Ellie Mannette's sinking of the pan surface into a number of concave groves; and Bertie Marshall's attempts at the amplified pan.

   Recognising that Goddard was wise to set limitations on the scope of his study, we can only regret that he did not do thorough interviews on pan innovations: with Ellie Mannette, who could have elaborated on how, in the late 1940s, his tenor pan creation, which he called, lovingly (?) 'the barracuda', took Port of Spain by storm; with Rudolph Charles, immortalised in David Rudder's calypso, "The Hammer"; with the legendary Tony Williams of North Stars, first to put "pan on wheels"; with the innovators who were responsible for the double-tenor, for the quadrophonic pan, for chroming the pans, and so on.
© 1991 Mona Goddard

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