From tribute song for Diamonds to new musical, Grub Cooper keeps the beat

Asley ‘Grub’ Cooper insists, with a shrug of his shoulder, that he is “just a regular guy”. Of note, was the fact that slung around this regular guy’s neck was the Silver Musgrave Medal which he was awarded by the Institute of Jamaica and which puts him in an elite class.

“Oh ... I wear it sometimes rather than having it as decoration somewhere,” Cooper shared. And, his OD, which he received from the Jamaican Government?

“Well, I got a chain for my OD, so I wear that sometimes as well,” he said aware of the importance of these medals of honour, but unwilling to make a great deal out of them.

Grub Cooper, the drummer for the 52-year-old Fab 5 band, is music at the cellular level, and in fact, he wears so many hats that’s its easier to simply say Grub, rather to start the list and then try to figure out whether to use commas or semi-colons to separate the unending nouns.

Born with congenital cataract, Cooper is classified as visually impaired, but if he doesn’t say it, you probably wouldn’t know, owing mainly to his fierce independence which sees him navigating life unaided and always armed with a creative, new project.

“I am always reinventing me. I am never satisfied wtih where I am at. Perpetually reinventing me ... and I am not stopping. I have another major project, but that is for when you lock off your tape [recorder],” he shared with a laugh, after he had spent close to an hour outlining his current status musically.

One of the projects that the vocalist and musical director is working on is a tribute to reggae group Mighty Diamonds, which lost two of its three members last year. “The song is called Diamonds are Forever, and it’s a very nice song,” Cooper said, after which he excitedly unveiled another project which is equally close to his heart

“I am doing songs for school. You see, a lot of school have school songs with melodies which exist already. My aim is to give them melodies that don’t exist, they will have that forever. If a student wants to write the lyrics, that’s fine by me. But if not I can create lyrics based on their mantra or their motto. And one thing I don’t want is for people to be talking ‘ e tu furre vist’. Convert the thing into English. They can still say it in the song, but you should have an immediate translation,” he insisted.

He agreed that Kingston College led the way with a motto in Latin, for which the English translation is known by all.

“But ... tell you a joke, shhh. I wrote them a song a year ago. Absolutely fantastic and dem love it. They never had an official school song. Some schools which you think would have actually don’t,” he explained.

The arranger and composer is also working with Michael Rutherford’s twin daughters, as well as on another Fab 5 project.

“They are Diana Rutherford’s sisters. They are amazing,” he stated.

Totally wrapped up in all his projects, Cooper’s aim is to keep on producing good music and keep on writing good songs. Another aspect of him is theatre and his first musical hits the stage later this year.

“Once I can get theatre space, it will be out. Dahlia Harris is producing and Basil Dawkins is directing and I have some very unusual actor and actresses in there. I am talking to some people and you are going to be amazed. And I know the musical nice, because I am good,” he said, matter-of-fact, not trying to convince anyone of his greatness, and even referencing Mohammed Ali, who was known for the statement, “I am the greatest.”

Cooper added, “I not going to mess up, man. I think the play is good. I’ve been around theatre from 1979/80, so, if I can’t write a piece of work by now, I am no good. I’ve always written a lot for pantomime. As a matter of fact, I’m in the midst of writing the songs for pantomime this year. And, remember that I do a lot of jingles, advertising and stuff like that. I’m just a musician.”

But, believe it or not, Cooper does have his shortcoming, which he pointed out with clarity.

“The thing I can’t lay claim to be great in is jazz. I understand aspects of it and I can sing it, but the music part of it ... Because, understand this, I was never trained in music. Not even to play drums. I never did a lesson in my life. I don’t read music, but I know what to do,” he explained.

Adding that he does “some stuff for RJR too” he shared that one such was the theme for the popular Beyond the Headlines.

“That is me. Kinda great for an untrained guy, don’t? But I hear it in my head, that’s the key. I just do this. My wife tells me that sometimes I keep timing in my sleep,” he said with a laugh.

The musical director and producer said that he didn’t realise how special his gift was until he was in his late teens, because he “thought everybody could do it”. His passion for the drums started as a child, and eventually he got a chance to be close to a drum set when he attended the School of Agriculture. And one night he met guitar maestro, Ernie Ranglin at a concert there, where he had the opportunity to play the drums.

“Ernie Ranglin was the man who encouraged me. He told me ‘You doing great, follow it up’. If Ernie Ranglin seh I can do it, who can tell me I can’t? The year was 1967,” Cooper recalled.

Regular guy that he is, Cooper doesn’t take his talent for granted, and, of course, the work only stops when he “takes [his] last breath”.

“I have had so many hit recording and have worked with so many great people ... all the Marley family, from Bob go right down. And the next one I hope to produce is Skip Marley. I wrote 20-odd songs for Grace Thrillers, produced their last 15 albums. I am versed in all areas of music ... there’s nothing that scares me. But I challenge myself in everything I do. I am not a quitter. If I can’t do it, I will tell you,” he said honestly.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com