Freddie Mcgregor nominated for JARIA Chairman Post

Groundins

By Charles H.E. Campbell

Sunday, May 03, 2009

The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JARIA) will hold elections to its board of directors on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. There are two excellent nominees for the post of Chairman of JARIA, in the persons of Tony Rebel and Freddie McGregor.
Freddie McGregor

Both individuals are blessed with charisma and have dedicated their lives to Jamaica and Reggae music, doing us proud, over many years. At all times, Rebel and Freddie conduct themselves with appropriate courtesy and decorum. They are successful artistes in their own right who have branched out into promoting and producing younger artistes and signature events. These Rastafarian role models are hard-working Jamaican cultural ambassadors.

Today, I share the early life story of Freddie McGregor, told in his own words, a story which demonstrates his sacrifices, determination and perseverance.

On June 27, 1956, I was born in James Hill, Clarendon, in Fairborn to be exact, which is a little way from Frankfield, closer to Chapelton and May Pen. Most of my family lived there over many years. I left there when I was very young, my mom said that we left there when I was about five or six years old. We went to Lower Clarendon which would be Vere and Hayes to be particular; that's where I really grew up. My Mama, Ms Tiny, is the lady who teach all of my peers and those who little older than me to prepare them for Hayes Primary School through her kindergarten school - called Ms Tiny Kindergarten, that she set-up at Hayes. She still lives there, still lives in Top Hill, never leave, everybody know mi mother and mi stepfather, the entire family; so we really home grown people there.

Growing up in Hayes, I went to Hayes Primary School. This is where I made up my first little song and got my first taste of fame- a little song named Roll Dumpling Roll - "If you want to know how dumpling sweet, dip it into coconut oil." Well, that song became really popular in my community and at school, People start offer me troppance (three pennies), cause it was still pound, shilling and pence - to sing the dumpling song. This aroused the interest of Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin, who were already well-known recording artistes, as members of the Clarendonians. Thereafter, I started hanging out at Ernest's house with him and Peter, listening to rehearsals, until mi start dip mi mouth in, and usually if yuh a do the thing wrong, dem would slap at yuh, as a youth, but obviously mi did ah gwaan alright suh dat never happen to mi.

And it continued on from there until mi just decide fe guh to Kingston. Ernest Wilson's mom, Ms Ethlyn - we call her Jetta - insisted that they wouldn't leave me to go into Kingston. So, she came roun' mi house one evening, call Mama; because we all lived in the same community, up in Top Hill; and she said, "Tiny, dem going to Kingston and dem not leaving di boy." I remember mi mother seh, "But Jetta mi nuh have the money" but Ms. Ethlyn answer seh 'Don't worry bout it, me wi pay it for yuh', cause she use to work at Vere Technical High School, and dats how the whole thing really started. She was determined that they wouldn't leave me, and so it turned out. She paid my fare to go into Kingston. She reminded us that when we saw the "cemetry," (she never said "cemetery" at the time) wi know seh we downtown, and wi must ask the bus driver fi show we weh the patty pan bus dey, and ask him to let us off at Coxsone studio.

That we did, and it worked out. Low and behold, I went to Mr Dodd's studio, all di great people dat mi ah listen to, love and admire - Jackie Mittoo, Skatalites and Don Drummond, Keith Sterling, Roland Alphonso dem, the Cables over deh suh, Bob Marley over deh suh, the Gaylads. I remember meeting Bob Andy, and so, just running into all these people was like, wow, my first day at university, meet up on all these people, big orientation and big wow. Everybody was interested in this little youth with Ernest, cause dem already know Ernest and Peter. Dem time dere, dem have tune like Cut Him Wid Di Rachet. Bob Marley ah mek all some bad man tune too. So everybody ah seh, "Ernis, ah yuh bredda dat?" and him ah seh "Yeah man, Likkle Freddie. Likkle Freddie can sing. Likkle Freddie sing mek me hear." Right away me start sing, "Roll dumpling roll, right away, yuh waah fe know how dumpling sweet, dip it inna coconut oil." Suh, people never have a choice, but to really love me as a youth still. Back then, if you were fortunate for any reason to get a chance to be in the studio, you were considered special, but for some reason Mr Dodd took a liking to me as a youth, and love mi voice, yuh nuh, and me become like him likkle son, right away.

After my third day at Studio One, him ask Ernest where I was staying and Ernest tell him. Him just tell Ernest fe carry up me clothes the next day, and after that, my whole life changed. I ended up living in Pembroke Hall, with Mr Dodd at his house, with his wife, his three daughters and him son, Donovan. Dat's how I ended up for a couple months, growing up wid a Christian family, dem send me to a school called St Andrew Junior High on Hagley Park Road which is now a Seventh-Day school .

That's how me entire career started yuh nuh. Mr Dodd probably have the most faith in me as a singer, I mean, apart from people like Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer who stack three beer boxes fi me fi reach the microphone on my first day of recording, cheer me on, cause by then everyone at Studio One love me as Little Freddie. Meantime, I recorded my first song in late '63, which was towards the end of the ska era. It was a song called Why Did You Do It. That became an instant hit, in and around the studio , then another song called, Do Good And Good Follow You, followed by one called, Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me Soon - the name Little Freddie start spread round the place. Since then it's been that way, mi really never leave the studio, never leave the music, I always represent Clarendon, became known as a Clarendonian, and from then on, it was just to move it to the other level.

I pretty much stayed at Mr Dodd from 1963 until 1979 when I did my first project outside of Studio One. This was with Winston 'Niney' Holness. Wi made an album called Mr McGregor which took off in England same time, and that prompted my thing in England. Is then me start realise seh mi name Freddie McGregor big. While it wasn't happening in Jamaica, it was happening elsewhere, such as Europe. Dem people had me off as big artiste from Studio One, when mi well deh yah and de ting nah work out. It wasn't until David Rodigan did an interview with me in England that mi really start realise seh people appreciate the work that I was doing, and me tell myself seh, "Once me get the opportunity, this is it, no looking back, cause all I wanted was one chance, one deggeh chance."

That chance came in 1982 after we came back to Jamaica from England. Wayne Walters came to me about another project. This ended up being the Big Ship album. At the time, England and Falklands just went to war - suh ships were going down and all that, so is like the song just started to tek off big time. Then the cruise ships start to get into the song, suh every time dem was leaving a port, Big Ship was the song dat the ships used to play. The song's popularity start to grow, becoming one of my biggest hits, of the many over subsequent years. That song represents the turning point in my musical career.

Email: che.campbell@gmail.com

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