Toussaint Smith, Staff ReporterTHE GLEANER has had its fingers on the pulse of the entertainment scene for decades. Naturally, our picture archives contain many a 1000-word story about those who have given us happy, memorable moments. In our series, From the Archives, we pluck a pic and take a peek into the past, speaking to the central figure about the moment and subsequent events.
The story reads: Mr. John Hearne, chairman of the board of the Institute of Jamaica (right), presenting Mr. Byron Lee, band leader, with the Institute of Jamaica Centenary Medal for his contribution to the field of music at a presentation ceremony at the Institute on Tuesday evening. Mr. Lee was one of 150 persons who received centenary medals for their contributions to the fields of art, science, culture, dance and theatre. 1981.
Sunday Gleaner: How did it feel, accepting this award for contribution to Jamaica's music?
Byron Lee: It was an honour, because it was early days in my career, so I had not - I would think that I did not - achieve enough at that time. When you don't expect anything it means more than when you feel you deserve it and it don't happen or does happen. So it was very pleasant for me, because right after that, the next week after that was the Silver Musgrave they gave me the Order of Distinction, so everything sort of fell into the right place.
SG: How has your life changed since?
BL: "That's 25 years ago... We have achieved three greatness. The main thing is that next year will be my 50th anniversary; we have had major impact. One, we are responsible and we are part of the artistes that merged the dancehall with the soca or reggae with soca. Two, we brought carnival to Jamaica. We were the only Caribbean island that never had a true Jamaican Carnival. I was able to do that in the 90s and now is the 15th year. And I think we also broke my estimate of trying to go to 30 -no 40 - cities (40 countries or 40 cities) which we have done in the last couple years."
SG: How would you compare carnival back then to now?
BL: Then it was fresh, a novelty, new and caught a lot of people by surprise. It was new and it appealed to the people who participated. It had appeal to a set of the society that really went to Trinidad. The masses came out of curiosity and some of them felt that it wasn't their culture, it wasn't their music. They didn't support it actively, but they supported it with their vision. Now they are supporting it as actively as ever. When I take carnival around to the country now, or the parishes, I feel safe, because you not going into the dancehall area that they going to say well 'take up, move... it's not our culture'. We are Caribbean people, we are all Caribbean people and carnival comes once a year, one day on the road on Sunday and people can go back to their dancehall or different music if they want to... It's an event.
SG: Is there anything you'd want to change about it?
BL: No. People can fine-tune it... We can fine-tune it, we can get a little more advertising abroad. We need to bring more people from overseas,;we need to have this event that brings people in... Then the country will benefit even more if people come into the hotels, pay the taxes. I want a little bit more co-operation from the agencies to make sure that it will be attractive and will let the visitors to come.
SG: Are there any major plans for upcoming carnivals?
BL: We want to do a road march in Montego Bay called a Night Mas. The Mayor of Montego Bay celebrates his 25th anniversary next year, and we are going to do something similar, with floats. By the way we have floats this year, floats and music trucks, colour and pageantry, and behind Byron Lee's truck I have the masses who come. I have the people who are out of costumes... they are plain out of costume, because they are the masses on the road. And we will have a big stage show at the stadium. We have a big Beenie Man, Doug E. Fresh, Bounty Killer, Wayne Marshall, Lima Calbio, Oscar B, Roger George, Denise Belfon and a whole bag of soca deejays mixed up wid the dancehall. We have Kurt Riley as a soca deejay; Sunshine will do the dancehall, Peter Phillips - soca, Marlon and Coppershot. What makes it so special, it is a present to the people of Jamaica from Supreme Ventures Jamaica Carnival. Free... not one penny.
SG: What can we expect from Byron Lee in the future?
BL: Well I have achieved everything that I want to achieve. The boys have been good and now I think I will say goodbye. It's not an easy thing to say goodbye to something you dedicate all your life to, but say goodbye where I'm gonna have succession planning. The Carnival will be carried on by the other young people and the band will have the name The Dragonaires. I've given them that as their service and I think I am going to... as McArthur says, 'old soldiers never die, they only fade away'. Old musicians never die, they only fade away. That's what I'm thinking of. I mean what I call the final span of my career - to go out and just be happy and be glad and have no regrets. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd do it all over again."
