Stories by Roy Black

The Alpha Boys School, located at 26 South Camp Road, Kingston 4, has made a dramatic transformation from the days when Sister Jessie Ripoll saw the need for orphaned and underprivileged girls to be housed and cared for.The idea was later expanded...

With the bloodletting that has engulfed the nation, one can't help but agree that the Mighty Diamonds, a 1970s Jamaican vocal trio, were right on track when they warned about impending disaster in several of their recordings.Their first big hit,...

Over the years, Kingston College (KC) has produced several outstanding entertainers in the field of popular music. The list includes the former lead vocalist of the Fab 5 band, Peter Scarlett, and its present leader and bass player, Frankie Campbell...

The Manhattans belongs to an exclusive fraternity of four-part harmony soul groups that emerged in the early 1970s in the United States. The Spinners, The Chi-Lites, The Stylistics and The O'Jays were others that stood out as harmony kingpins.Led...

Last week's Music Diaries focused on the important role that deejay Dennis Alcapone played in keeping the Jamaican Diaspora connected with the Jamaican authorities and fans, concerning artistes scattered abroad and, particularly, their passing. He...

Describing Anthony ‘Chips’Richards as an international ambassador for the Jamaican music industry would certainly be one of the biggest understatements of the 20th century. The name may mean very little to Jamaicans at home, but in...

One of the most commonly accepted inaccuracies floating around these days in music circles is that Bunny Wailer is the only surviving member of the legendary Wailers singing group. Beverley Kelso, one of the surviving symbols and cornerstone of the...

Last week's Music Diaries revealed how songwriters, especially those in early popular music, made heroes and heroines out of singers through their writing, while they themselves dwelled in the shadows. The twist to that is that several songwriters...

The Grand Caribbean Suite at The Knutsford Court Hotel was filled with nostalgic euphoria recently, as patrons, friends, well-wishers and vinyl record enthusiasts gathered for the launch of the 20th staging of the Vinyl Record Collectors Association...

Last Sunday's Music Diaries highlighted the role played by several Jamaican rocksteady groups in helping to establish the genre as the most rhythmically pleasing music form experienced by Jamaicans. The beat, which had its heyday between late 1966...

Laying the foundation for the dissemination of Jamaica's popular music to the outside world is the focus of this retrospective. Last week, the Music Diaries paid tribute to Jimmy James, one of the entertainers who were central to that process.James...

Very little focus has been placed on the pre-ska era of Jamaican popular music. Yet, the era has produced several outstanding entertainers who have helped to lay the foundation for ska, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall that followed.Earliest on the...