Walker wrong on Skatalites' birth

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Stanford Walker, in his letter to The Gleaner of April 26, 2013, said The Skatalites band was formed in the late 1950s, and not in 1964, according to Carolyn Cooper's account (Alpha Boys' School gets new logo; Sunday Gleaner, April 21, 2013).

Mr Walker is wrong; Ms Cooper is correct.

Tommy McCook, who formed the Skatalites, left Jamaica for Nassau in 1954 and did not return until 1962, so it would have been impossible for this iconic group to have started at the time claimed by Mr Walker.

Skatalites guitarist Jerome Haynes, also known as 'Jah Jerry', once told me, "The first place I remembered us [The Skatalites] ever playing was somewhere in Rae Town."

I confirmed that later while reading THE STAR of Saturday, May 16, 1964, the date of The Skatalites' first live performance.

The venue in print was the Hi-Hat Club, 4 Hannah Street, in Rae Town. There is no record of The Skatalites performing live previous to the date mentioned.

Incidentally, according to what a resident of the given urban district told me, The Hi-Hat Club was situated on a property called the Rae Town Fishing Village.

Mr Walker is correct about Don Drummond having lived on Hitchen Street. That the writer knew Drummond and was exposed to the Kingston music scene of the late 1950s qualifies him to have his say on the matter, but even so, our memories will fail occasionally.

RICHARD FLETCHER

Hampton Court, Kingston 10