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George
Barrett Reggae Radio Host
Grew
up in the oldest inland Town in Jamaica Bath St Thomas, about 45
miles east of Kingston. My passions for reggae come at an early
age. My homes next door to Roberts’s night club & Tavern,
where my mother runs the family bossiness, hearing the jute box
play day & night, weaken big dances. Listen to calypso Ian Count
Lasher & Batteries powered sounding system. To name a few, Barlow
Sound, Dada Nick, Mellow Canary, Merrytone, Danny Lou, Phoenix the
Ghost. I can still member when the sounds came to the clubs and
surrounding dancehall to string up on weakens; in the evening it
was my chance to getting in the club, and the dancehall & sees
how things set up, and hears them test the sound out. About the
age of 12, I decide to keep a kids dance in my back yard. So I invited
some of my friends, using some of my mother empty salt fish &
red herring boxes. Using the big salt fish box for the speaker box
and the red herring box for the amplifier, Hot ½ steel in
fire and used it to burring marble holes in one side and then fill
the hole with deferent color marble, then used a lighted candle
in the box, look just like the amplifier I saw over the club. For
the speaker I put my 2 of my friend Ricky & Mickey in the big
salt fish box, with a lot of holes in the front, and tell them to
sing. The respond was great. Everybody was laughing to hear the
boys singing in this box. The first human speaker was invented.As
a young boy I always like to make model
of things I saw.
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In
the early sixtys my mother sends me to learn to repair
radios . After doing it for a year, a friend of mine
who live in Kingston came to visit, his parent told
me about company name Jesco who is looking for Radio
and TV technician. I went for a job interview and
I got the job. Living in Kingston it was great opportunity
for me to check out the Records shops and the big
dances around Town & here the big sounding Systems.
Sound like sir Coxson Downbeat, Duke Reid The Trojan,
Supertone Sound, Lloyd the Matador Sound, King Tubby,
King Patrick the Dub Master, VeeRocket, Tom the great
Sebastian, to name a few. My favorite band was The
Skatalites. On Wednesday after noon the place to be
was Victoria pier listening to Tommy McCook and the
Supersonic. The weekend you can catch me Friday nights
at Barbeque lawn down on Fleet Street with Sir Coxson
down Beat with selector King Stitch. Saturday nights
Liberty Hall on King Street, Jubilee tile garden Upper
King Street, Forster Hall on North Street, 14 and
17 Windward Road, Sundays Gold Cost Beach on the St.
Thomas road with King Tubby with selector U’Roy.
I use to make extra money buying prerelease 45”
records and take them to the country side on sell
them to sound man. You could call me a record juggler.
1969 I build an amplifier for friend of mine name
“Sakcro Disco” he did not have a place
to store the disco so I kept at my house. In the evening
when I came from work I set up the disco and play
music in the yard. 1970 I left my job at Jesco and
open record shop and Radio & TV repair at 20 Charles
Street Kingston. I begun to produce records, my first
production was at Randy’s recording studio 17
north parade Kingston. The groups were Gladstone &
the Rider; the studio band was Aston Barrett, Carlton
Barrett Tommy McCook, Robby Shakespeare & other
musicians. We recorded 4 songs and some instrumental
track. The big tune was “them laughing”
which was realest on Shanty Tramp Records label. Back
in those days they call me GB the producer. 1972 I
migrated to Vancouver BC Canada taken with me a large
wooden box full of 45” single records. In Vancouver
I started a sound calls Wadada Hi-Fi playing for Caribbean
parties and moving on to banquets wedding and other
social events. I have a large selection of reggae
music.
