Toronto Blues Society | » Carribean Soul

Carribean Soul

Published February 1, 1996 in Features
George Banton
George Banton

George Banton

George Banton began his singing career in the churches of St. Elizabeth parish in Jamaica. He emigrated to Canada in 1976 and began performing various styles and scored a number-one R&B hit with “Faithful and True” in the early 80s. Other hits followed, including the self-penned “Honey I Will”. He has been twice nominated for the coveted JUNO Award and continues to touch audiences in Toronto and beyond with a style that reaches from Joe Tex to ZZ Hill and a soulful delivery that remains forever connected to the church choirs of Jamaica.

The mission statement on our masthead says “…promotion and preservation of the Blues” but the TBS occasionally stretches beyond that mandate to demonstrate how different musical styles have affected the blues (and vice versa). Last year, our Afro-Nubians/Downchild event drew rave reviews from TBS members who were delighted to hear something new as well as afro-fans who got to discover Downchild and Madagascar Ben (currently in Madagascar on a travel grant that resulted in no small part from his appearance at that event). Continuing our never-ending search for new blues connections, The Toronto Blues Society presents Caribbean Soul with George Banton, Nana McLean, John Ellison and Vivienne Williams and we have invited writer and broadcaster Norman Otis Richmond to provide some background on the Caribbean connection to blues, soul and R&B. The show takes place at Action Twin, 294 College on Saturday, March 2 at 9pm.


It is a little known fact that the south in general and Louisiana in particular were a stronghold of Marcus Garvey‘s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Southern African Americans heeded the call of the Jamaican– born African nationalist.

On the cultural front African American music has had a profound effect on Caribbean people. Many reggae artists openly acknowledge that they have been influenced by the music of Black America. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny (Neville O’Riley Livingston) Wailer and others in the Wailers admit to having soulful influences. Marley, one of the “Third World’s” first superstars recalled, “My earliest influence in music comes from Fats Domino time-Brook Benton and alla dem people. That was the music I used to listen. Plus calypso. Plus Spanish music, yunno, Latin-type of thing we get on the radio. Then me listen very hard to men like Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Impressions. That’s what they played on the radio in Jamaica.”

I experienced the influenced of Curtis Mayfield on reggae in my first encounter with Bunny Wailer. In the late night/early morning in Jamaica in 1986 I caught the last song of Wailers concert. He was performing the Impressions classic ” Gotta Keep On Movin'” a song that was written by Curtis Mayfield. It was about 5am and Wailer was ending his concert with Mayfield’s tune.

This song was recorded by the original Wailers when they were produced by Lee Perry in the late 1960s. Wailer re-recorded it on his Bunny Wailer Sings The Wailers and again on Shanachie’s tribute to Curtis Mayfield People Get Ready. Wailer re-recorded it several more times with and without the Wailers. He was joined on a 1977 recording by members of the British reggae band Aswad and Jamaica’s Third World. His latest Island release Natural Mystic features a rendition of “Gotta Keep On Movin'”.

In fact, at Marley’s last performance in Pittsburg after he was diagnosed as suffering from cancer he sang “Gotta Keep On Movin’ “during the soundcheck. He sang the song so long and so hard that the I-Threes (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths) left the stage in tears. Marley and the other Wailers recorded this song so much the group UB40 credited Marley with writing the song. Curtis Mayfield recalled that “I had to write letters to get my publishing rights”. As a testament to the unity of Marley and Mayfield’s work both are credited for writing the international anthem “One Love”.

Peter Tosh remembered the first time he Bob and Bunny harmonized together and some of the songs they performed. He lists Jerry Butler’s “He Will Break Your Heart” and the Impressions “Gypsy Woman”, Sam Cooke‘s “Chain Gang” and Wonderful World”, Ray Charles “Hit The Road Jack”, the Drifters “There Goes My Baby”, “This Magic Moment” and “Some Kind of Wonderful.” Stephen Davis pointed out in his book Bob Marley, “Bunny’s voice was high and piercing, an almost natural falsetto like the Impressions’ Curtis Mayfield. Bob’s tenor was smokey like Sam Cooke or the DriftersBen E. King. And Tosh’s deep baritone anchored the group with the commanding authority of a Jerry Butler.

Bunny remembered why all the Wailers related to the Impressions in general and Mayfield in particular. “Curtis was our idol. He was the youngest in the group yet he wrote and produced all the groups material. We admired him for this. Mayfield says he has become a big fan of the Wailers. Says Mayfield, “I hope that my music will capture the world like Marley’s. I hope that my music like Marley’s will be of value long after I’m gone.”

Ten years ago the Black Music Association (Toronto Chapter) attempted to build on the tradition of fusing Caribbean artists with soul music. Jamaica-born George Banton, Guyana-born Aubrey Mann, and England-born D’Janet Sears backed by the Toronto MusicMakers (Paul Taylor, bass, Darren Barrett, trumpet, Daniel Barnes, drums, Jim Gelcer, keyboards, Mike Stewart, and Paul Barrett sax under the musical direction of Reggie Paul did a tribute to Sam Cooke at the Club Bluenote. Also included was the Steel band Afro-Pan who featured Carlos Morgan on several of Cooke’s songs. Cooke’s brother L.C. Cooke who attended the affair along with Jody Klein (the son of Alan Klein who managed Sam) was elated at the event. Said L.C., “The show was great the steel band blew my mind.”

On Saturday, March 2, the Toronto Blues Society further explores the Caribbean connection bringing together George Banton, Nana McLean, John Ellison and Vivienne Williams for Caribbean Soul at Action Twin, 294 College St. For further information call the bluesline at 416-504-2037.

– Norman Otis Richmond

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The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.