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They are both parishioners: Marcus Garvey, the prophet and Burning Spear, the teacher.
Garvey was born in St Ann’s Bay on August 17, 1887, 138 years ago today. Burning Spear, the teacher, was born on March 1, 1945, in St Ann’s Bay. Garvey, through the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which he founded, energetically motivated cultural activities for artists in general, including musicians and entertainers, to use the arts as part of its broader agenda of black upliftment. Burning Spear heeded the call, and he is universally acknowledged as the pre-eminent reggae artiste in the roots tradition.
The late Jimmy Tucker, himself a Garveyite and an artiste of conscious creative impulses, in ‘A Musical Tribute to Marcus Garvey’, in Marcus Garvey’s Cultural Legacy, noted: “The creative artiste in any society has an honoured role. In this regard, the thoughtful singer is obliged to abstract the best ideas of a people’s heritage and perform songs and airs that mirror the past, illuminate the present, in a manner which helps the individual to become more informed, confident, and purposeful about the future. The singer who succeeds at this role helps the society to experience cultural continuity.”
While many Jamaican artistes have heeded Garvey’s command, no single entertainer has been as dedicated as Burning Spear in lionising Garvey and carrying out his mission of “cultural continuity”.
POWERFUL REFLECTION
The album, Marcus Garvey, by Burning Spear, released in Jamaica in 1975 and, subsequently, internationally, is a significant tribute to the memory of Jamaica’s first national hero and guiding Pan-Africanist. The recorded songs are deeply rooted in Jamaica’s social struggles and historical experience, serving as a powerful reflection and reminder of the country’s rich cultural and complex political history.
As we celebrate the 138th year of Garvey’s birth, the magnitude of his teachings continues to powerfully echo throughout the black diaspora. Similarly, drawing from Garvey’s teaching, the messages on the 50th anniversary of Spear’s monumental recording serve as a testament to its enduring relevance and profound impact on our present condition. The connection to the past and its applicability to the present underscore Garvey’s immense significance and his devotee Burning Spear’s importance as a disciple.
Winston Rodney adopted the Burning Spear moniker from Jomo Kenyatta, the anti-colonial activist who was greatly inspired by Garvey and who led Kenya’s transition from a British colony to an independent republic during his presidency.
Highlighting Garvey’s influence, Kenyatta in Motswana: Africa, Dream Again by Donald Molosi, said: “In 1921, Kenyan nationalists, unable to read, would gather around a reader of Garvey’s newspaper, the Negro World, and listen to an article two or three times. Then they would run various ways through the forest, careful to repeat the whole article which they had memorised to Africans, which lifted them from the servile consciousness in which they lived”. He continued, “When I met Garvey and listened to him in London, I became a Garveyite”.
By assuming the Burning Spear persona, Rodney regards himself as a teacher rather than an entertainer. Like Kenyatta, who spread Garvey’s opinions to different villages, Burning Spear preserves Garvey’s legacy by circulating his philosophy through musical recordings and performing in various countries worldwide. This album, therefore, plays a crucial role in maintaining and disseminating Garvey’s philosophy, contributing significantly to the preservation of Jamaican history and culture.
Producer Lawrence ‘Jack Ruby’ Lindo and the Black Disciples, the aggregation of musicians on this album, must be acknowledged for their emphatic contribution, which has profoundly influenced the recording’s success and earned it perennial esteem. The dexterity and dedication of the cast of musicians have truly made this work a masterpiece.
The horns, led by alto saxophonist Herman Marquis and supported by his sensitive arrangements, inspire Carlton Samuels’s subtle flute infusions. Richard ‘Dirty Harry’ Hall on the tenor saxophone, trombonist Vincent ‘Trommie’ Gordon, and trumpeter Bobby Ellis complete the brass section. Their dissonant punctuating riffs and melodic statements evoke emotions, permit listeners to appreciate Burning Spear’s unique vocal timbre, his poetical delivery, and melodic aesthetic.
The rhythm section includes Robbie Shakespeare and his mentor, Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, who would become reggae’s two most influential bassists. Valentine ‘Tony’ Chin’s lilting cadence supports Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, whose velvety, soulful, and expressive lead guitar discreetly constructs crystalline interjections. Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey and Tyrone Downie’s keyboards insinuate bittersweet moods in keeping with the songs’ messages of socio-historical and potent political interpretations. The distinct drumming style of Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace is embellished by sparse percussive interjections, which give the riddim a balanced and unmistakable quality.
The band’s excellent musicianship and cohesiveness perfectly interlock throughout the recording, supporting the trance-like call-and-response chants between the harmony singers Delroy Hines and Rupert Willington and Burning Spear’s poetic and, at times, dirge-like delivery.
Notably, the impactful lyrics, addressing Garvey’s prophecies, teachings, and betrayal, played a significant role in shaping the cultural consciousness of the 1970s, making it a modern classic.
The track listing includes Marcus Garvey, Slavery Days, The Invasion, Live Good, Give Me, Old Marcus Garvey, Tradition, Jordan River, Red, Gold and Green, and Resting Place. Especially during the ‘socialist experiment’ of the 1970s, under the leadership of Michael Manley, when this recording was created, Cold War politics had a severe impact on Jamaica’s economy. Basic necessities, such as imported food, were scarce, and the Government implemented policies to address the country’s economic and social issues. Burning Spear linked those realities to prophecies by Garvey, expressing the specific predictions and their significance throughout the album’s themes.
The lyrics on the title track impactfully address Garvey’s prophecies, teachings, and betrayal. “Marcus Garvey’s words come to pass/Marcus Garvey words come to pass/Can’t get no food to eat/Can’t get no money to spend, whoa ...”
Spear offers comfort to the children during those difficult times: “Come, little one, and let me do what I can do for you, and then he cautions politicians, the status quo, and the nation: He who knows the right and do it not/Shall be spanked with many stripes/Weeping, and wailing, and moaning.”
He then asks about Garvey’s arrest: “Where is Bag a Wire? He’s nowhere around; can’t be found, friend betrayer who gave away Marcus Garvey.”
Those lines are inspired by folk portrayals. Bag a Wire was a homeless wanderer on the streets of Kingston up to the late 1960s. It is said that he was the one who betrayed Garvey’s whereabouts, leading to his arrest and subsequent three-month sentence in the St Catherine District Prison. This occurred after he was elected as a councillor in the then Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, representing the Allman Town Division in 1929.
On the second track, Spear asks: “ Do you remember the days of slavery?”
Utilising repetition, call-and-response, and cultural memory, he addresses the human atrocities of slavery days and then draws on historical memory as a teaching method: “ And they beat us/And the work was so hard/And they used us/’Til they refuse us.”
On Old Marcus Garvey, Spear continues with emphasis on memory punctuated by repetition:
“No one remember old Marcus Garvey ... They have been talking about Paul Bogle/They have been talking about William Gordon/They have been talking about Norman Washington Manley.”
He then employs biblical references: “ John the Baptist’s head was cut off/Put it away into a saucer/Stephen, a disciple of our Lord, believe me/Yes, they stoned him to death/No one remember old Marcus Garvey.”
On the song, Jordan River, Spear invokes the impact of bodies of water — from the Atlantic, which led to enslavement, to the meandering rivers, through which many escaped to freedom — on black culture. He acknowledges the water’s liberating and spiritual power on minds, souls, and bodies. “Weak-heart shall not enter this river/The fittest of the fittest shall enter/Who is the son from Bozrah/With his garments dipped in blood?/All I know is that/Jordan River gonna roll, roll, roll.”
Symbolism abounds in Red, Gold, and Green, which refer to the colours of the Rastafari flag. References are made to chanting around the “circle”, also known in black diasporic culture as the ring shout and in Jamaica as ring games. The play includes singing and chanting. Again, the river is invoked.
HISTORICALLY POTENT
Burning Spear has a unique sound, and the narrative of his album, Marcus Garvey, is socially and historically potent. While Marcus Garvey and Slavery Days are unforgettable tracks individually, the entire album remains impactful.
This landmark album is elevating, passionately expressed, and powered by moral outrage. Its righteous character provides educational wisdom, addresses humanitarian concerns, and offers delightful dancefloor possibilities. Rastafari philosophy and Garvey’s spirit are infused in every track.
Marcus Garvey’s legacy is substantial, and Burning Spear’s lyrics enable them to remain relevant in today’s troubled society. Above all, however, without the teaching and elevation of Marcus Garvey in the curriculum of our education system, Jamaicans will continue to be confused about their own history and identity. These elements contribute to the enduring quality and classic status of this record.
Marcus Garvey is a brilliant album and an essential gem from the 1970s reggae canon, and it remains a brilliant work in these contemporary times. The ‘70s marked a classic period for reggae, devoid of hype. Yet it was the high point for the music, with its positive messages and spiritual inspiration for many worldwide.
The importance of Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey is beyond debate. It is without question a masterpiece, his magnum opus, and, therefore, it is deserving of a 50th anniversary recognition; a reissue with extensive annotation, bonus tracks, and session photographs, if they exist.
Herbie Miller is a socio-musicologist and the director/curator of the Jamaica Music Museum. Send feedback to entertainment@gleanerjm.com.
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