Dudley, King Stitt leave rich legacy

Gordon Robinson, Contributor

Jamaica recently lost two indigenous icons. The first to go was Dudley Joseph Thompson, who left us after 95 years of seminal contribution to his country and the world. It's significant that, for the first 45 years of his life, Dudley Thompson, descendant of slaves; grandson of a Jew, with Scottish blood from his father's side of the family, was a British colonial subject and yet his most famous lifetime philosophy was pan-Africanism. If I were able to sum up Dudley Thompson in a word, that word would be 'independent'.

Mainly because of my own reclusive nature, I never met Dudley Thompson. But stories of his prowess at the Bar were legion by the time I qualified as a lawyer a few short years ago. Based on these stories from my impeccable sources, he was among the very best advocates Jamaica has ever produced. I may be stepping on several national toes here, including the 'coore' of many 'manley' persons, but, although others may have been his equal at the Bar, none surpassed him. His general geniality; his infectious, garrulous nature; the depth of his experiences; the width of his knowledge; and his facility with the language made him a formidable opponent for any Crown counsel.

There are hundreds of Dudley-Thompson-at-the-Bar stories, but I'll tell one. Dudley was defending a 70-year-old man accused of raping a very young lady. When his client was being pleaded, Dudley rose to his full height (about three feet) and replied on his client's behalf, "My client pleads not guilty, Your Honour, but he appreciates the rumour." Thereafter, the outcome was never in doubt.

high-profile friends

His life was meaningful and varied. He was a flight lieutenant (pronounced 'lefftenant' for young American mind slaves out there); flew many missions over Europe as a pilot in active combat; and was injured in action. He numbered the likes of George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah, C.L.R. James, Julius Nyerere and M.K.O. Abiola among his friends and colleagues. As a lawyer, he defended Jomo Kenyatta during the Mau Mau trials (look them up) in Kenya. What's not so well known is the effective role he played in the independence movements of both Belize and The Bahamas.

Thanks to some of our more mean-spirited opinion journalists, his political career has become defined by the Green Bay massacre (for goodness' sake, look it up) and his unfortunate public statement that "no angels died at Green Bay". It has almost become legend that Green Bay was his responsibility when the historical facts will show that the national security minister at the time was Keble Munn, NOT Dudley Thompson.

Later on, Dudley's "no angels died" remark, albeit inopportune, to say the least, was nothing more than a clumsy attempt by a reluctant party stalwart to avoid embarrassing his party and avoid condemning the actions of the police and military for whom he now had responsibility. In fact, the Green Bay 'operation' during which much fewer innocents lost their lives than took place recently in Tivoli Gardens, was entirely a military operation by an army trying to prove that it had better intelligence than the police, and I doubt very much that any government minister had a clue what was going on. Dudley has long since expressed regret for the incident and his careless comment, and acknowledged that only "innocent Rastas" were killed that day.

Dudley Thompson was born on January 19, 1917. Numerologists will tell you that's a 'Number 1' Day, meaning that Dudley was destined from birth to rise to the top of his chosen profession. He did that in multiple vocations. Rest in peace, Dudley Joseph Thompson, pan-Africanist, superlative defence counsel; nation builder; world leader; great Jamaican.

"No matter what the people say, these sounds lead the way. It's the order of the day from your boss DeeJay, I, King Stitt. Up it from the top to the very last drop!!"

In the late 1950s, the Jamaican music industry was struggling for an identity. Sound system operators like the legendary Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd, when away on farm-work programmes, would buy the latest records in the United States rhythm and blues genre, bring them back to Jamaica, scratch off the labels so no competitor could know how to find them, and introduce them to the Jamaican public at the dances as 'exclusives'.

But the most important component of those dances was the 'Toaster', a celebrated spinner of the discs with a unique talent to hype up the crowd and attract customers with their introductions to the pieces to be played. These guys were very different from today's so-called dancehall deejays who simply 'ride' a reggae rhythm. The 'Toasters' were born, bred on, and experts in the blues music of black America. They had to know the Louis Jordans, Roscoe Gordons or Shirley and Lees of this world. Black music history was their foundation. Creative hype was their profession. First, there was Count Matchukie. And then there was his protégé, King Stitt, who got his chance when 'Chukie' migrated to another set.

many misfortunes

Winston Sparkes ('King Stitt') was born on September 17, 1939 and grew up in the same colonial era as Dudley Thompson. Numerologists will point to a significant difference in his birth date - a 'Number 8' Day associated with sorrow, loss and humiliation. This doesn't mean success isn't on the cards, but, like another very successful icon born on a Number 8 day (Muhammad Ali; January 17), success was accompanied by sorrow, loss and humiliation.

Sparkes bore all three in spades. Suffering from a severe stutter as a boy, he was nicknamed 'Stitt', which he later used as his stage name, adding 'King' when he was named 'King of the DeeJays' in 1963. Winston was also born with a facial defect made worse by the attentions of police while carrying out his duties at the downtown dances or riding his bicycle around town distributing records for Sir Coxsone Downbeat. His facial disfigurement and his connection to the fledgling grass-roots music business made him a regular target for police brutality.

Yet he remained a Studio One faithful all his life. But what is little known is that he was an encyclopaedia for the history of local music. His social life was necessarily limited; he lived next door to Studio One; and was present when all the classics were being recorded. The King could tell you who played which note on which song recorded 50 years ago as if it were yesterday. This helped him with his 'toasting'. As deejay/toaster, for example, when the instrumental section of a seminal song like Jackie Opel's Cry Me A River was at hand, Stitt would 'toast':

"Coming up, Roland Alphanso on the Saxophone and I, King Stitt, on the microphone. Blow, Roland, blow!"

Stitt peaked at a famous dance in 1963 at 'Mutual Hall' on South Race Course. The dance was called Psalms 133 and Stitt was very much at the controls and in control.

"Lest you forget, you're now tuned to Sound One, Love One. Sounds rightful Ruler ... I, King Stitt, the first to quench your musical thirst ... ."

He introduced Alphanso's unique opening bars of Four Corners, during which creative titbits like "Boys you need no toys to touch joy; while you, girls, you can get up to the four corners of the worl'" and "This is not magic; it's magical" accompanied the mellifluous tones of the Skatalites as the disc spun and dancers flooded the floor.

Then it was the King who first essayed to transfer 'toasting' to vinyl recordings, thus paving the way for the likes of U-Roy; Big Youth and a flood of others. Inspiration came from everywhere, but often from the imported cowboy movies of the time. As always, accuracy was sacrificed on the altar of creative hype.

"This is the days of wrath; Eastwood. I am The Ugly One. If you want me meet me at the big gundown. I am Van Cleef. Die! Die!! Die!!!"

King Stitt's contribution to the development of local music goes well beyond the few vinyl recordings he made. He was an innovator and pioneer. He was the crucial link between Dodd, himself an introvert who provided the entrepreneurship against all odds, and the marketing of the product. His was the public face of Studio One who made that record label known. But for the likes of Chukie, Stitt and others, U-Roy, Scotty, Big Youth, and Yellowman would have no path to follow, and as my friend, the Mighty Burner, Bunny Goodison, often asserts, the modern DJs like Sean Paul, Buju and others should be kneeling at the altar of King Stitt offering everlasting gratitude.

I agree.

Winston Sparkes, toaster, DJ, musical historian, linguistic genius, nation builder, great Jamaican, rest in peace.

Peace and love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.