Jones

Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

In a game of musical guess and tell, if Bob Marley's name surfaces most would say he is the greatest reggae icon.

Put other names like Burning Spear or Lloyd Parkes in the mix and they would be readily identified for their respective contributions to Jamaican music. But throw out Hedley Jones and the mind may wander to cricketer George Headley or to saxophonist Headley Bennett.

This should not be the case, since Hedley Jones has made one of the most significant contributions to Jamaican music and, as a consequence, the world.

Jones is the creator of the first electronic guitar in Jamaica. "The first time I heard an electronic guitar I found out my banjo was only making noise," Jones said. "When I heard it I could not buy it, neither could I afford to import it (from Europe). I thought the best thing was to make one, so I improvised. I was what people called a jack of all trades. I could fix everything," he said.

His impact is not limited to music. In 1936 Jones left his home in Wakefield, St. Catherine, in search of employment and landed a job as a proofreader at the Gleaner Company. His tenure was short-lived, but he was able to pick up the pieces and move on to head proofreader at the Jamaica Times. However, again Jones lost favour with his employer, this time because they refused to give him a reasonable pay increase. That turned out for the best as greener pastures awaited. "When I find myself in a difficult spot, I find my way out," Jones said.

The Times had a record shop in which they sold records. And that was the first time Jones heard an electric guitar played.

Jones later left Jamaica to fight in World War II.

While in the the Royal Air Force he was trained as a radar engineer and received a certificate from the Royal Technical College in Glasgow, Scotland.

He returned to Jamaica after the war and established a radio repair business. The knowledge he got from the Air Force gave him the know-how to make the first 'Jones guitar' in 1940, but the innovator was bound for a higher calling. That is when he tried his hand at building sound systems.

After the war, the number of live bands and public address systems had diminished. Jones said by then only the richer folks could afford to listen to a live band and the poorer people had to do without. The use of steel horn was popularised, but they reproduced sounds which were not easy on the ear. One of the sound system operators, Tom Wong, hired Jones to duplicate a sound system Jones had made for himself.

Wong's set was accordingly called 'sound system', starting a form of entertainment many persons have come to enjoy. Jones laments, though, that although many a partygoer rocks to the beat from the various sound systems, not many can say just how it all started.

Band ordered Jones' guitar

The lack of good entertainment was widespread, including in the United States. The U.S. army had a base in Sandy Gully and the band there ordered one of Jones' guitars. The orders kept rolling in and the guitar became more popular, reaching other towns in Jamaica and ultimately the Americas.

Then in 1953 Hurricane Charlie wreaked havoc on Jones' radio repair business. But the jack of all trades was not totally washed away. Jones and his cousin Stephen devised another Jamaican first, traffic lights. The first set of lights was erected at the intersection of King and North streets. He said that prospect did not go far as a result of politics. "I was living in a Jamaica where there was little recognition for technical work. I was characterised as a jack of all trades. That's how the intelligentsia saw me," he said.

Jones would later find a niche in the tourism industry, where he entertained with his instruments. He also served as president of the Jamaican Federation of Musicians. He became an executive of the federation shortly after he joined, then in 1968 he became vice-president. In 1985 he became president.

In 1994 the Jamaican Government awarded Jones the Order of Distinction for his service in the field of music.

Alas, many do not know who Hedley Jones is. He said the problem is "we don't pass on what we know through posterity. Only older people know what I did. Anyone who is aware of me would have to be over 60."

Jones said he was also the first person to print on bread bags in Jamaica. One of Jamaica's more popular bakeries at the time, Powell Bakery, asked the Jamaica Times printer to print the bags, since they were importing bags from the United States. Jones also helped to build the legendary Studio One.