Lester Sterling… Last Man Standing

skatallitesB. Royal, Jamaica Gleaner Sunday April 6th

Over the years, we have witnessed a number of surviving members in various disciplines, who have lived to reveal interesting stories about the activities in which they were involved. Perhaps sports and music, which are closely connected, are the two disciplines from which this is most prevalent. In last week’s Music Diaries, Beverley Kelso, one of the surviving members of the original Wailers, spoke of interesting facts about the group’s development, facts that proved crucial to the formation of a timeless entity within reggae music. Bunny Wailer, the other surviving member of the group, has also comprehensively showcased the Wailers’ legacy in an in-depth CD boxset, titled Musically Speaking. Alto saxophonist Lester Sterling, one of the three saxophonists with the incomparable and inimitable Skatalites band of the 1960s, an ensemble described by former Prime Minister Percival James Patterson as the greatest aggregation of musicians ever assembled on this land, is the only surviving member.

Superfluous talent abounded in nine musical geniuses, who collectively created some of the best instrumental recordings in Jamaica’s music history, some of which are still being copied today. The old adage that ‘too many bulls can’t reign in one pen’ may have played out to the detriment of the group, resulting in an ephemeral life-span of about 15 months, between 1964 and 1965. The immense musical talent that was embodied in each member inspired a desire by each to lead, and this often led to disagreement among some members. The wearer of the crown fell to tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook, who many considered the best read (musically) of the members. The third saxophonist, tenor man Roland Alphonso, was the crowd’s favourite, mainly because of the ‘sweet notes’ that came from his sax, while trombonist Don Drummond, rated at one time among the top three trombonist in the world, was arguably the most talented of the lot, and perhaps the best known, internationally.

Other Members

The other members of the group were the keyboard maestro Jackie Mittoo, trumpeter Johnny Moore, drummer Lloyd Knibb, bassist Lloyd Brivett, and guitarist Jerry Hines. In addition to their outstanding instrumental pieces, the Skatalites backed some of the biggest vocal hits of the day, including The Maytals’ Sixth And Seventh Books, The Wailers’ Simmer down, Delroy Wilson’s Lion of Judah, Justin Hines and the Dominos’ Carry Go Bring Come, and Stranger Cole’s When I Call Your Name, which featured Sterling’s alto saxophone. All in all, the group’s achievements belied the short time it stayed together. With such an impressive legacy, the chips fell hard on Sterling, the only surviving member, not so much to reveal untold stories about the group, but to perpetuate the name – Skatalites – and the memory of eight talented musicians who have all passed away. This he set about doing between 1977 and 1978 with the reformation of the group under their original name. That existence was short-lived, but when Tommy McCook joined them in the mid-1980s, there was another resurgence. In an interview with Sterling at his Jamaican Norman Gardens residence, he said McCook stayed with the group until his passing.  Thereafter, with Sterling at the helm, the ‘new’ Skatalites toured extensively, while doing several recordings, including the distinguished album Sterling Silver, on Sterling’s own Echo label.

Sterling was born in 1936, raised in the east Kingston community of Allman Town, before entering Alpha Boys’ School, the repository and nursery of many future musical stalwarts. His admission record, a copy of which I had the privilege of acquiring, courtesy of then principal, Sister Mary Ignatius Davis, showed that he was admitted there as a six-year-old on April 15, 1943 and discharged on April 13, 1953. ‘Ska Sterling’, as he became known, was from a musical family. His three brothers also enjoyed careers as professional musicians. Sterling actually started out playing the trumpet in 1945, while at Alpha. ONCE A TRUMPET PLAYER He explained the transition from trumpet to saxophone in an interview: “I was originally a trumpet player. I used to play trumpet with Luther Williams at Club Havana, at the Glass Bucket in Half-Way Tree, on thenorth coast, and with the Val Bennett band in 1956, before taking up the sax. When I heard Charlie Parker play, I got influenced right away.” That was in 1958, and by the following year, Sterling was a winner on the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour talent show at the Majestic Theatre. Joining the Military Band in 1960 was his next move. During this period, he composed and recorded at Federal Records, the absorbing ska piece, Whalebone, in 1961. He then had a brief stint with Kes Chin and the Souvenirs band before becoming part of the Skatalites in 1964. When that crashed in 1965, Sterling went back to playing trumpet for Byron Lee’s band from 1967-1968. Freelancing for Studio One, Sterling scored his first No. 1 in 1967 with his composition Pupa Lick, which depicted a diver’s somersault. In 1968, Sterling cut his signature recording, the landmark No.1 hit,Muma No Want Bangarang, an adaptation of Kenny Graham and his Afrocubists 1950s hit Bongo Chant. The landmark hit was hailed by some as the first reggae song, with Sterling claiming the original intention was for it to be an instrumental. But, the saxophonist would later decide to add the voices of Stranger Cole, Lloyd Charmers, and Maxwell Smith. According to Sterling, “I get the idea from this woman and her daughter. The daughter emigrated to America, and then I think she encouraged the mother to leave me and emigrate too.” On the subject of being the first reggae song, Sterling said that he told organist Glen Adams to “Mek the organ go reggae reggae. I insisted that Glen play ‘back and forth with his hands’, reggae, reggae, reggae.”

In 1998, Sterling was conferred with the Order of Distinction by Governor General Sir Florizel Glasspole.