Innovations of Anthony Williams and how they revolutionize Steelband, the music and Carnival
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Innovations of Anthony Williams and how they revolutionize Steelband, the music and Carnival - Robert Saldenha
©2020 Robert Saldenha.
This is the revised work of The Innovations of Anthony Williams and How They Revolutionized the Steelband, Steelband Music, and Carnival.
All rights reserved to the information in this book
ISBN: 978-1-54399-339-4 (print)
ISBN: 978-1-54399-340-0 (ebook)
"It was ah different kinda man
Existing in de dregs
Of dis blood sucking society…………
Was ah man
Wid guts of steel
To survive
De blows – de blues
Police brute force
And dey jail dey tail
Attitudes of
A destructive society………..
Wasted man
Trying to ease the squeeze
Wid creative hand
On wasted pan
And is tempo in de land……….."
Bro. Resistance…………Pan Baby
Contents
Acknowledgement
Foreword
About the Author
Introduction
Undisputed Claims
Disputed Claims
Definitions
Methodology
Constraints
Origins of the Steelband
The Evolution of the Steelband
Alexander Rag Time Band Story
Winston Spree
Simon Story
Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra—T.A.S.P.O.
The Spider-Web Ping Pong or Tenor Pan (1953)
Pan on Stands
Pan on Wheels
Big Pans (Jumbo Pans, or 747)
Note Placement on the Bass
Musical Arrangement
Disputed Claims
Analysis
Bertie Marshall
Acceptance
Conclusion
Recommendations
Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgement
This paper was originally created in 1984, while I was a student at the St. Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), with Dr. Selwyn Griffith (deceased) of the Faculty of Agriculture as my mentor.
When I started to revise this study, three fellow panists—Joe Beetle
Jones, Dave Clement, and Wayne Walcott—were always there to encourage me, and would persistently enquire when this work would be completed. On numerous occasions, I restarted the project, but was never able to get going. Dave Clement of birdsong Steel Orchestra from time to time would ask me about the paper I was doing on Anthony Williams, and it would rekindle that fire in me to complete the work. Thanks to the Internet, a whole world on Steelband history is now available, and special credit must be given to Kim Johnson and Keith Smith formerly with the Trinidad Express newspaper for their extensive research on the Steelband. Mention must also be made of the late George Goddard—former President of the National Association of Steelbandsmen for his wonderful book on the origins of the Steelband. Anyone wishing to read about or research the origins of the Steelband should make this book a must-read, and also visit the Pan Trinbago website. Everything, well almost everything, you ever wanted to know is now available.
Special thanks to John Aghadiuno for his patience and opinions when putting the manuscript together. Thanks also to Nolan Ramdewar, who did the artwork and Marilyn Bruno for the PowerPoint presentations.
Once again Anthony Williams was very instrumental in filling in the blanks. His unpublished book, History of the Steelband 1945–1962,
is a must-read, whenever it becomes available. I am very grateful for the time and effort he made available to me, to complete this paper.
I am now domiciled in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and any suggestions, criticism, or new facts are welcomed.
Finally, there are those who have encouraged me in the past, most notably Dr. Selwyn Griffith (deceased), Faculty of Agriculture, University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine (brother of Beverly Griffith), the first Steelband arranger I have known, Knolly Arthur, Andrew Joseph, Richard Ricky
Etienne, Ken Jones, Gerald Clark, John Dennis Moffat, Alfredo Fredo
Henrique, Selwyn Sankar and the other pan jumbies
at Unilever West Indies; Shaka N’Kosi, Rudy Piggott, and CJ
(Carolyn Jordan), who assisted me with the first manuscript. To them all my eternal gratitude, for I know they will continue to support me, if not in body, then in spirit.
Foreword
While I am writing for an international audience, much of the narrative is directed to the Trinbagonian panists, and as a result I have introduced some Trinbagonian slang, which would make it easier for them to understand. In such instances, an attempt was made to explain the slang to the international audience.
There are numerous anecdotes about the origin of the Steelband, which at times can be overwhelming. The story of the Alexander Rag Time Band transition from Tamboo-bamboo to Steelband has dominated, and has been accepted as the true origin. However, we still do not know the true story, because Victor Totee
Wilson, whom it was alleged was the first person to pick up the tin can and start beating it, confessed that when he did that, bands were already beating tin cans (see George Goddard’s book History of the Steelband). However, what came across to me after reading this book is that Gonzales (in the Belmont region of Port of Spain) was a beehive of Steelband activity in those early days, and more attention and research should be done with this in mind.
Before he passed away, Cyril Jackson, the first leader of Cross Fire Steel Orchestra of St. James, Trinidad, confided in me that the person who created the first steel pan was a mechanic from Bournes Road in St. James. I was never able to locate the gentleman, and his name now escapes me.
Nevertheless, the facts that remain constant are:
Steelband or pan was created in Trinidad.
The Tamboo-bamboo and the iron bands (bands made up entirely of motor-car brake hubs, chassis, or any form of steel or iron) were the forerunners of the modern Steelband.
Dustbins, sweet oil cans beaten with sticks, were the first instruments of the Steelband.
The sound of the pre-1945 Steelbands was not melodious, but rather rhythmical.
What has been identified as the first Steelbands were not drums or cans beaten with sticks. What should be claimed as the first Steelband should be that band in which a melody was first evident; that is to say, when notes were first introduced on the drums or cans.
About the Author
I grew up on Abercromby Street, just above Park Street, and while the name Saldenha is synonymous with production of Carnival bands, I was never interested in creating Carnival costumes, but was more attracted to playing the steel pan. As a matter of fact, most of the friends with whom I grew up were of a similar persuasion.
In the 1950s, playing with a Steelband was a big NO-NO, but I would sneak away, and at a very young age I learnt to play the doo-dup. I later graduated to double guitar, but this was