Arriving in Kingston Jamaica after leaving the countryside, selling in grocery shop after school/andgetting my head into music.
Kingston was a fun place with all types of people from England, America, China, India, Africa. The place was bugged with Juke boxes, and Sound system boxes that were varnished, I did adore them. We lived in an apartment in Denham Town, my bedroomvwas next to a wall, and agiinst the wall next doorvwas asoundsystem box, of the Count Barrett Sound system. I took in the bass sound, and I studied the patterns, then later I would match the patterns to the themes and melodies, I rehearsed this in my mind, without a teacher, or any guidance in music from an andividual. I took note of the tempos, and the way the music swinged.
By this time mother was pursuing a job as a bus conductress on the JOS busses. We lived opposite famous cricketer, his name was Collie Smith, he had two sons, Asher and Art, they became quite skilled footballers around the kingston area. We attended the same school. My encounter with one of them happened when we were playing lunch break football in the schools courtyard, from this i had a scar on my chin with eight stitches.While we were playing and tackling for the ball, I jumped and my leg was kicked, so I spun and fell on my chin, hit the fine gravel to feel the blood spurting. That afternoon I went to the hospital, and began treatment.
Shortly after this in 1961 I won a scolarship to attend Kingston Technical High School, from Denham town school, which was next to Spanish town Road. Most of the evenings after school, I would help Grand mother in the grocery shop, this was exciting for me, as I sold goods handled the till, and the customers, a little flustered sometimes, however I got through the evenings, and with the juke boxes going accross the street, this excited me even more. I was given a telefunken gramphone, this I used to entertain myself and the neighbours, I was quite shy, and this helped me to break out, and get attention, not to myself but to the music. I did get attention from the older girls, who were 18, 23 that age, I was coming up to 12 years old then. I purchased records from Orange street the street that sold the beat, then I returned home to start playing, it fascinated me to push the buttons on the gramaphone set, and I would often tune to W I N Zee redio, which came from Miami’s airwaves. I began feeling the passion for music, as the airwaves were full with sounds, it still is until today.
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