BIRTH and INFANCY of the STEELBAND
1991 George Goddard Forty Years in the Steelbands: 1939 - 1979The Roaring Lion - Calypsonian
Next we turn to a famous calypsonian, Rafael De Leon (the Roaring Lion) who during the course of a conversation on the subject, said that the steel-band in Trinidad started during the later part of 1939. This led him to compose a calypso for the calypso season of 1940. It was the first calypso ever composed on the steelband. They first verse of this calypso was:
(1)Hear the kind of songs they sang in town
Christmas night, while the band was going around (Repeat)
They had the bottle and spoon and biscuit pan
Better known as Alexander Ragtime Band.
The Roaring Lion said that he saw this Alexander's Ragtime Band, parading the streets of uptown Port of Spain on Christmas night of 1939, a few weeks before the opening of the Calypso tent for the Carnival season of 1940.
This claim by the Roaring Lion about the composition of the calypso, was supported by Emile "Zola" Williams, founder and former leader of Free French steelband, in an interview at his Marabella home on July 27, 1986.(2) However, Zola could not say whether or not the steelband that the Roaring Lion had sung about, had come out for the first time late in 1939.
The Roaring Lion has provided his own version in responding to questions put to him during an interview on March 22, 1983 with Dr William R Aho, an American sociologist:
© 1991 Mona GoddardNo one person or even a number of persons can truly say that they were deliberately responsible for the origin of the steelband. The steelband was not the dream of anyone nor was it the result of any mishap. The fact is that the steelband has been with us for a period of at least one hundred and twenty-five years... But of course no one paid any attention to it...
It was called the Bobolee Band... with the passage of time, about 1919, the music of the Bobolee Band caught on with adults and the result was that it found its way into Carnival and became the main feature of a certain Carnival Band at the time. The band in question was a Sailor band (USS) Bad Behaviour... The beating of the Bad Behaviour pan was identical with that of the Bobolee Band... The beating of the pan was especially featured on Carnival Monday Ole Mas...
Between the years 1934 and [19]40 the tamboo bamboo was in demand but the oil pan was gaining momentum in its stride to eclipse the tamboo bamboo... A well organised band caused a sensation on Christmas night with a full complement of drums and pans. In front of the band were two fellows carrying a banner marked "Alexander's Ragtime Band". They borrowed this name from a US movie, a musical by that name. This innovation by Alexander's Ragtime Band gave a fillip to this kind of music and started a whole chain of events... The following year a band calling itself All Stars, using empty steel paint pans, caused a sensation that Carnival; like Alexander's Ragtime Band they too came from New Town.
Then in 1942 another band emerged from Basilon Street, East Dry River, Port of Spain. The name of this band was Bar 20. Some of its members were Ossie Campbell, Pops, Battersby, Zigilee... Bar 20 copied its name from movies...
These panmen became so absorbed in this style of music that they no longer adhered to the traditional custom of the annual beating of the pan but instead they started to play their music all through the day and up to late at night. And like an epidemic the pan fever went raging through the districts of Port of Spain. Everywhere, these bands were springing up. Each band was anxious to outdo the other. This ambition on the part of the panmen resulted in rivalry and gang warfare...
And to aggravate the situation, every year people were complaining about the noise, because now you see they were doing it night and day; it was not just a question of two occasions.
At first the police took no notice of the complaints, but when the steelbands grew bolder, and began to parade the streets in very large numbers by night, it was no longer a matter of disturbing the peace but downright lawlessness... the law stepped in and outlawed the movement, But this only drove them underground. The result was frequent clashes between the police and members of the steelbands and gang warfare between the rival steelbands.
But another calypsonian... advised the Government in a song:
"Give the hooligans the old time cat o'nine
and they bound to change their mind
with licks like fire
send them Carrera
and they bound to surrender."That was the song they sung... In spite of this vigilance, the steel-bands continued to increase in numbers rapidly and there was no end to their defiance of the law.
However, at this point of its history a champion in the person of the late Honourable Albert Gomes, a member of the Administrative [Legislative] Council then, came to their rescue. Writing in his column, "Ubiquitous", he very often defended them. He more often than not based his defence on juvenile delinquency [arguments]. Other councillors who also defended their cause were: EM Mitchell, Quintin O'Connor, Norman Alcantara, AE James, Solicitor Lennox Pierre and Mr Crichlow... Mr Lennox Pierre was the first person to form a steelbands' association. It was located down at Cocorite and that probably helped to initiate the Youth Centre idea, with the emphasis on members of the steelbands.
It was then that the Government started to give them permission to parade the streets for three hours, 6 to 9 p.m. on certain festive occasions. The permit was issued to them by the Police... Now the myth of "Spree Simon"... "Spree Simon" was a good pan man. He was one of the men who fought unflinchingly for the recognition of the steelband... He did not start or invent the steelband; nor was it he that first played popular tunes or melodies on the pan. And I am sure he never told anyone that...
Spree came on the scene about 1944 and gained recognition between 1946 and 1948 when he beat out part of the hymn... 'Ave Maria' on Frederick Street for Governor Sir John Shaw. It could have been on Discovery Day [August 1]...(3)
© 1997: tobagojo@gmail.com 19980108 - 1m20071228 - 2m20140615
Historic Update: 08 January 1998; Last Update: 16 July 2014 23:45:00 TT
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