1 month ago
9
Any tribute to late reggae great Junior Byles would be incomplete without the presence of singer Patrick Buddo. It was, therefore, not surprising that he was among the first artistes to hit the stage at last week’s edition of Dancehall Thursdays, which was dedicated to Byles. Junior Byles, the singer whose impact, musically, will never fade away, passed away on May 15 at the Kingston Public Hospital. He was 77.
At 11:45 p.m., a militant-looking Buddo, who has covered some of Junior Byles’s greatest hits, was welcomed by patrons, whose $500 at the gate was earmarked as a contribution for the family of the late singer. In a setting designed to reconstruct the original dancehall, Buddo brought positive energy and revived memories with the classics Fade Away, Curly Locks, and Beat Down Babylon, all from Byles’ catalogue.
Buddo told The Sunday Gleaner that he chose to cover Byles’ songs simply because of “the message in the music”.
“You see that song, Fade Away ... it is a song that will never ever die,” said Buddo.
It was in 2008 that Buddo decided to do a remake of Fade Away, and he has an interesting story about the song. It involves reggae icon Bob Marley, who died in 1981, appearing to him in a dream.
“I went to Tuff Gong [Marley’s recording studio], but somehow I just couldn’t record it ... is like after I sing two line I just couldn’t go no more, and I leave it. Days after that, Bob Marley dream me and seh ‘Yuh not going to sing the song?’ ... in his ‘nostril’ way. And I seh, ‘Which song?’ Bob said, ‘Nuh Fade Away, man’. Well, that was a wake-up call for me. I went back to the studio and record the song, and it come out perfect. The song was a hit,” Buddo said.
In July of that year, Buddo’s version of Fade Away was voted Top Song on Roots FM’s What’s The Verdict feature. It received heavy rotation on radio locally and internationally, and Buddo was in demand.
Fade Away, which warns of the fleetingness of the things on which people place value, states: He who seeks of only vanity/And no love for humanity/Shall fade away, fade away/He who checks for only wealth/And not for his physical health/Shall fade away, fade away/Though some believe in diamonds and pearl/And feel like they’re on top of the world/They shall fade away.
COVER VERSIONS
“I have done five of Junior Byles’ songs ... Fade Away, Curly Locks, Beat Down Babylon, Place Called Africa, and me and U-Roy did Nebuchadnezzar,” shared Buddo, who is a full-time entrepreneur who loves music.
“I come to pay my respect, so I try to give it my all. And every time I perform Junior Byles’ songs, I make sure to interact with PRS to make sure that he gets whatever he is supposed to get. Every time I perform his songs on stage, he gets money for it, so that is a joy for me,” Buddo said.
Although he lives in Jamaica, Buddo has met Junior Byles only once, and that was four years ago.
“I went up to Junior Byles, asked him who is the person who sings over his songs, and he said ‘Buddo’. And I said, ‘Who is Buddo? and he said, ‘Patrick Buddo.’ I asked him if Buddo sings over his songs good, and he said, ‘Oh yes! He sings them good’,” a satisfied Buddo recalled.
He shared that the conversation ended without him ever identifying himself to Junior Byles.
Following Byles’ death on May 15, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange hailed Byles for his outstanding contribution to reggae music.
“In recording some of roots reggae’s greatest songs, Junior Byles rubbed shoulders with some of music’s brightest and best throughout the years from the 1960s when he entered the business. He remained a very humble, kind, loving, peaceful person - a gentle soul until death - and it seems so sad that in his later years he developed mental health challenges,” Grange said.
EARLY YEARS
Kenneth Byles Jr grew up in Jones Town, and singing in church was part of his weekly activities. A firefighter, Byles formed the group The Versatiles in 1967 with Dudley Earl and Ben ‘Louis’ Davis. His Wikipedia bio states that Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was scouting for talent for Gibbs and signed the group to the label. The Versatiles split up in 1970, but Byles, who had embraced Rastafari, continued to record solo for Perry, who, by then, was doing his own productions.
The fruitful partnership resulted in what would become anthems, Beat Down Babylon and Place Called Africa. In November 1972, Byles released his début album, Beat Down Babylon.
In 1975, Byles recorded Fade Away for producer Joseph Hoo Kim. It was covered by Adrian Sherwood’s New Age Steppers group, and it was also featured on the soundtrack for the film Rockers.
By 1975, his mental health had begun to decline, and sources say that “Byles was deeply affected by the death of Haile Selassie, unable to reconcile this with his belief in Selassie’s divinity and attempted suicide”. In between stints in Bellevue Hospital, he continued to record.
His career was dogged by periods of visibility, followed by prolonged absences, and even a painful session when he was recorded on the streets scavenging for food and asking random persons for money. His family, however, has always been his rock, and the music fraternity stepped up to assist when Byles needed it most.
English (US) ·