Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
At the start of the DVD which accompanies the King at The Controls: King Jammy Essential Hits compilation CD, there is a roll call of names. The names, which overlap, are steeped in dancehall history and include Risto Benjie, Johnny Osbourne, Shabba Ranks, Chakademus and a reference to "that Spanish Fly youth" (which would be Little Twitch, of course), the cascade ending with 'everybody'.
And so begins nearly an hour of impressive dancehall history, in which nearly 'everybody' from the dancehall boom of the mid to late 1980s that make Lloyd 'Prince Jammy' James permanently King Jammys speaks or is mentioned. The main artiste who speaks is Ninja Man, who underscores Jammys status by calling him 'boss' at the beginning during a recording session and at the end when he says "as Jammins call I answer. De only man more than Jammys to me is God."
Interviews
The 'everybody' includes interviews with performers Admiral Bailey, Tullo T, King Everald, Junior Cat, Little Twitch, Josey Wales, Wayne 'Sleng Teng' Smith, as well as clips and pictures that show Major Worries, Frankie Paul and Tenor Saw.
But there are also interviews with producers Mikey Bennett, Bunny 'Striker' Lee, brother Trevor 'Uncle T' James, Bobby Digital and Steelie, sound men and producers Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell and Black Scorpio, and others.
And all testify to the ears and feel of the 'King', Bennett saying, "Jammys had what they call golden ears. He could hear 100 songs and the minute he heard the hit everything stopped and we started working on it."
Knows the sound
As Bailey puts it, "Jammy is a man who know the sound him want, him know how loud him want the sound or how soft him want the sound and that is what separate him from other producers."
With live cuts from Cinema 2, as well as New York and London (where Jammys draws wicked tunes on Scorpio) in the mid 1980s, there is a lot to listen to and look at (and look back at), including a rare look at famed selector Tupps.
Still, there are some notable exclusions from the 'everybody'. It is hard to think of a documentary on King Jammys without Shabba Ranks and Bounty Killer and, from the late 1990s to early 2000s, Ward 21. And Noel Davy, the man who had the keyboard that the Sleng Teng rhythm came from, is a very, very, very glaring absence.
