No, not in those times. It was strictly sound system and listen to the ska music.
Were King Stitt, Prince Ruff and those guys your influence to pick up a mic and deejay?
Umm… I’m not going to say they influenced me… I didn’t even know they were an influence on me, I wouldn’t say influenced it was from me liking the music… that’s what I could say. Cause I could stay in my yard and hear when the sound was playing. So, I wanted to go hear this music. I wanted to go see what’s happening around there. It was the music not the people. Yuh know, likkle bwoy I be curious cause I used to love the music. When I was seven, I mon love to sing. While in prep school, I would perform for concerts. I recall during that time my thirst for the music was really strong. I would go and make music with a board and pan. My brother, Baron, taught I to sing Nat King Cole songs. At that time singing was like finding gold.
Did you like singing before deejay?
Yes, years later Augustus Pablo told me I should sing. He told me that.
So who were your favorite Jamaican singers during this time?
Prince Buster, Derrick Morgan, and Eric “Monty” Morris, he was my favorite singer.
At what age did you start deejaying?
Well I never take up deejaying til about let me see… 65, 66, 67 maybe 1967. I was about 17 years of age when I start messin with the music like deejaying.
Who was the first person to pass you the mic?
Nobody really pass me the mic. I never used to be a deejay on no sound at the time. I remember that I never used to work with any other deejays, but my nephew, he used to have a sound, come around playing music and I would be messin around with his stuff and I became very good at talking and selecting. So then I start to deejay for Prince Patrick.
Who was he?
Prince Patrick was a sound system from the Rockfort era in Kingston. Then I use to deejay for Prince Norman who use to be associated with Winston Martin aka Emperor Marcus. He was the owner of Prince Norman and they use to come and get me to deejay the sound, I used to be pretty good back then. So when Prince Norman broke up, Winston Martin becomes Emperor Marcus and I become resident deejay for him. I really loved to do it.
Would you go and buy your own records or would they supply the records?
Well, when I was playing those sounds like Prince Patrick or Prince Norman they would buy the music. But after I was playing Emperor Marcus I was buying the music cause I was responsible for Emperor Marcus, or seeing that I knew the artist and I used to hang around them sometimes I didn’t have to buy the music. When they had a new record come out I used to get it from them, know what I mean? They know I have a sound system so they would want me to play their music on the sound.
Where was your favorite place to buy music?
Randy’s, Channel One, Aquarius and Joe Gibbs. I would go to Channel One with the Hookim brothers and cut the dubs, special dub plates.
What were some of your favorite labels to get?
Studio One! I could tear up a sound with Studio One. We used to play other stuff like Bunny Lee’s stuff but Studio One was everything in dem time deh. I’d be playing some other record and people would come up to the dj booth and shout, “PLAY SOME STUDIO ONE! PLAY SOME STUDIO ONE!”
When you would play the record, would you play the version only or…
No, We used to play the vocal then flip it and toast over the version and that’s where I would get my vibes from. That’s where I started.
You sent me a photograph dated 1974 showing you playing the sound. In it I noticed there was only one turntable. Did all deejays play with one turntable?
Yeah, Daddy U Roy used to play with one turntable back then. One turntable was used up until about the mid ’80s. Yes, I remember also King Tubbys used one turntable, Tippertone, Emperor Marcus, Gemini, Black Harmony all dem sounds used to use one turntable.
So, when the record was over you would…
We could take it off so fast and put it on so fast. Less than a second! We were experts, so while we’d be changing the record to the version side we’d be saying something to the crowd before the record comes on. Seen?
It took alot of practice huh?
Yeah we would do that, just practicing that’s what we deejays call serenade. Like I mean we did not play for anybody you would play in your own place. We say serenade, you say practice.
So you would practice flipping it over and getting the needle right at the start?
Right pon top of the start! It takes alot of eyesight, your eye has to be quick!