Sometimes a pleasant surprise lands on your doorstep regarding someone else’s doings that connects strongly with you as it triggers memories in your own life or your own search. Recently, out of the blue, I received a CD done by a young Guyanese performer, Juke Ross, who has recorded a cover version of my song “Not A Blade Of Grass”. Produced here in Guyana, I was intrigued by the recording on two levels: first, because, although it was a different approach from the one I used with Tradewinds Juke had managed to capture the essential heart of the song as a straightforward paean to Guyanese feelings about country. Without ever feeling me out about my intentions or how the song originated, he had clearly captured the same ingredient that was in the original recording. Although we have since communicated by email, I haven’t spoken to Juke and while I don’t know much about him, including his age, my sense is that he is a fairly young man starting out on a musical career, and I was impressed at the sensitivity level he was showing.
Flowing from that, the second aspect was that the experience here, of a musical experiment by someone else, took me back to my own time in another country, Canada, as a young man, when I was starting out on the long process of becoming a musician and song-writer. For any aspiring artist those early times, which can last for many years, are a mixture of trial and error, of learning your craft, of, indeed, finding yourself as a creator and, in parallel, a great deal about yourself as a person. It is rarely the case, as often presented, of an overnight success. Most of the time it is a laborious process, by its nature often a solitary one, and along the way, because it is a very individual knowledge, not easily acquired by schooling, advice from others on the same search can be of significant help. Juke’s recording served to remind me vividly of my early search, and I took the time to send a note to him that might be useful to other youngsters here starting out in music.
I was deliberately brief in that short email to him because I wanted to focus on what I had come to see in my beginnings as the two essentials in a musical career. Although in our brief exchange he had never asked for my advice, I wrote to Juke this way: “I’m writing to you directly to say that the best way I can help you is to urge you to ultimately zero in on being original in your work, and, in parallel, to never settle for ‘it can wuk so’, as we say in this country. It will mean more effort, yes, and a lot of sacrifice, to always concentrate on being original and giving it the best you have, but those two ingredients will give you the best possible chance to succeed because your work will automatically have a high standard and, more importantly, you will not be a copy of anyone else – you will stand out because you’re different, you’re new, you’re Juke; let others copy you, be your own man.” I ended by saying, “From that piece of music you’ve done, I can see in you the indications of ability and originality that underpin any successful career in music, so you’re starting in good shape.”
Obviously, musical ability and the willingness to sacrifice and to put up with setbacks are part of it, as is good business sense, but in my time in music in the Caribbean and outside, I have seen many careers with potential come to nothing because those two ingredients of originality and high standard were missing in the work being produced, and in a way it is understandable. For the talented newcomer, eager to get going, high technical standard can give way to getting the song done quickly and on the market, but the professionals in radio will spot the flaws and ignore the work. Also, for a new performer, looking to make waves, one obvious approach would be to imitate the work of an established performer, and as much as there are international music stars in Jamaica and Trinidad and Barbados, there are also many who are on the “sound alike” path; it is not unique to Guyana. Notice, however, that in all those countries, it is the artist who is original who is making the waves; the copycats are sitting on the shoreline watching. When you sound like Shaggy, you are only promoting the Shaggy brand as an imitator. Who are you? What is unique about you?
Originality sounds like an obvious position to take, but it is surprising how many of us, with a God-given musical talent, come to the business and ignore it. Granted, it takes commitment, and it is not an easy search. There are hundreds of artists out there, and more coming every day, each struggling to be heard, to get noticed, to be “discovered”, and the search for originality or freshness can be a laborious one. The famed ballad singer, the late Nat King Cole, was struggling for recognition for years as a jazz musician until a perceptive promoter heard him sing a love song one night, and advised Nat: “You’re okay as a jazz man; as a ballad singer you stand out; that’s what you should be doing.” Nat King Cole left the jazz circuit, became known as one of the greatest ballad singers of all time, and never went back to playing jazz where he was just one of many. David Rudder came along as one of several Trinis singing lead with Charlie’s Roots, a top soca band in Trinidad, but it was only when he turned to his own unique song-writing talent that he became the standout performer with a singular place in Caribbean music with songs such as “Haiti” and “Panama” and “Praise”. David showed the “one of a kind” originality that made him a brand, if you will, that stood apart from the crowd.
Ultimately, that is the key: to succeed in music, you have to stand apart from the crowd, if not in the material you present, then in the way you present it, or, sometimes, in the way you present yourself; originality, or a different sound or look, must be there. From that perspective, Juke Ross looks like a fine young talent with his head on right, and he’s showing the signs of a good one. I wish him well.
