on>
Words of Our Mouth,Meditations of Our Heart
WORDS OF
OUR MOUTH,
MEDITATIONS
OF OUR HEART
Pioneering Musicians ofSka, Rocksteady, Reggae,and Dancehall
Kenneth Bilby
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS | MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT
Wesleyan University Press
Middletown CT 06459
© 2016 Kenneth Bilby
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by April Leidig
Typeset in Kepler by Copperline Book Services, Inc.
Frontispiece: Buru drumming across the generations.
Old Harbour Bay, Jamaica, 2005.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bilby, Kenneth M., 1953–
Words of our mouth, meditations of our heart:
pioneering musicians of ska, rocksteady, reggae,
and dancehall / Kenneth Bilby.
pages cm.—(Music/interview)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8195-7588-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8195-7604-0 (ebook)
1. Musicians—Jamaica—Interviews. 2. Popular music—
Jamaica—History and criticism. I. Title.
ML3486.J3B45 2016
781.646097292—dc23 2015022537
5 4 3 2 1
Cover illustration: Uzziah Thompson (Sticky), Kingston, Jamaica, 2005.
Contents
Lammy Palmer and Emmanuel Palmer, 2
Cecil Campbell (Prince Buster), 8
Evan Lloyd Richards (Richard Ace), 14
Ivanhoe Wilson and Members of the Zion Hill Congregation, 16
Rafael Griffiths and Members of the Congregation of the African Reform Church of God, 20
Lloyd Clayton (Bro. Job, Baba Job), 22
Neville Baker, Lucille Forbes, and Company, 38
Headley Bennett (Deadly Headley), 50
Owen Emmanuel (Count Owen), 60