After successful virtual event, Merritone makes real giveback
Published:Saturday | December 26, 2020 | 12:06 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
On the weekend of November 20, Merritone Disco celebrated a milestone 70 years of great music, 30 years of Merritone Family Fun Day, and the birthday of a legend, Winston ‘Merritone’ Blake, who would have turned 80 on November 19. The event, organised by Monte, one of the renowned quartet of Blake brothers, was dubbed ‘Reunion 2020: the Virtual Edition’. Although it was free, there was also a charitable component to it and, therefore, a real collection plate was sent around, with a simple message: “If the music hits you, feel free to make a donation”.
Concerned about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the music industry, Blake had a real desire to help make a difference. The collection, he explained, would be used to defray the cost of staging the event, and also share among music industry persons such as selectors and musicians who are experiencing financial challenges during this time when work is scare and, in some cases, non-existent. One month later, the sound system legend is making good on his pledge.
“Merritone will be giving a little financial assistance to four persons in the entertainment industry with funds donated by the Merritone family during our virtual celebration weekend [on] November 20,” a pleased-as-punch Monte Blake told The Gleaner. The recipients are Gladdy ‘Wild Bunch’ Parker, Sarina Constantine, Keisha Patterson and Errol ‘Bird’ Bailey. “I feel great that Merritone is able to assist, and I am anxious to do more. We are our brothers’ keeper, and giving is absolutely in the Merritone DNA,” he declared.
Blake is happy that his Merritone family came through, and he now has $80,000, which is being shared equally among the four persons. “Except for Gladdy, these are persons who we always employ as talent at Merritone events,” he said, partially explaining how he made his picks.
Giveback
Singer Sarina Constantine, who has performed at quite a few such events, had no idea that some much-needed funds were coming her way. “I was surprised. I was not expecting it at all. When Mikey Thompson from Kool FM sent me a text, I thought he was giving me an update about a Merritone event that I was supposed to perform at, and then I saw that it was about a giveback and that I was chosen. I truly appreciate it. It’s not every day that someone of their stature goes out of their way to help their fellow human being,” she told The Gleaner.
A graduate of the Edna Manley School for the Visual and Performing Arts, Constantine has been working in the music industry for the past 12 years. She has done quite a bit of background vocals for various projects, and is working on her own collection of songs. “I did some work with Ibo Cooper, both recorded and live, and now I am preparing my own stuff. I have been waiting on the right time, and so I am using this time to [write] some new music,” she said.
Merritone, at 70, has the distinction of being the oldest continuously active sound system in the world, and their boast goes something like this: “Great sound systems come, and great sound systems go. They are now resting in silence, and Merritone is still here”. The sound system was started in St Thomas by family patriarch Val Blake. His sons Winston, Trevor, Tyrone, and Monte took over its operation after he passed away in 1956. They moved to Kingston in 1962 and captured the hearts of Kingstonians at its first gig at the Wembley Cricket Club. Monte Blake, in a previous interview, described that as a watershed moment for Merritone.
An integral part of the Merritone story is the Turntable Club on Red Hills Road, their base for 29 unforgettable years, which saw the crème de la crème of Jamaican society, international celebrities, and the regular Joes all rubbing shoulders every Thursday night inside this melting pot that was Merritone. “A lot of men met their wives by coming to Merritone, and now, we are playing music for entire generations — father, daughter, son, and their kids. We are more than just a sound, we are family,” Monte Blake told The Gleaner.