When 10-year-old Lee Braithwaite sang one Harvest Sunday at his church, little did he or anyone else know, especially his proud grandmother who sat up front, that he would decades later be releasing his own albums.
When Lee took up singing 29 years ago it came as no surprise to family and close friends who already knew that his uncle, legendary Guyanese singer Johnny Braff, had paved the way for music in the family.
Lee’s early years saw him singing at various village concerts and his first national exposure was at Guyfesta at the National Cultural Centre. Later, after training with the Guyana Police Force for six months, he joined the force’s band in 1980 where he stayed for five years and left after there was a demand for vocal artiste.
Lee worked with several other bands including Mischievous Guys, EC Connection, and Pete’s Caribbean Fusion. Some years later in 1990, the singer represented Guyana at the Caribbean Broadcasting Union Song Festival. Though he did not place, he did raise a few eyebrows which led to him recording his first single in Barbados. He also did stints in Suriname and England before migrating to Canada where he lives today.
Recollecting his memories in Guyana, Lee shared that that he holds Rosignol in a special place in his heart. Rosignol was where he attended primary and secondary school and the very place he would gather with his siblings in between school and belt out tunes in front of their house. Every time they got together, neighbours and passersby would refuse to miss out on such a treat, standing, watching and taking in the young people while they praised their talents. Otherwise they would hear Lee’s melodious voice when he was taking a bath, the bathroom seemed the perfect spot for listening to the acoustics. Those were beautiful times, the singer said. Such memories bring nostalgia.
Whenever Lee was not getting down to music, he was caught up in mischief but never the sort that would hurt anyone else. That was definitely not something Lee would do, as he explained that he was always the loving and kind child. These are moments he will take to his grave and only those who experience such a life will ever understand the joy that came with them. It is these experiences, Lee said, that he wants to pass on to his grandchildren, his only way of letting them into a time when life was simple and carefree.
Since taking up this career path, the artiste performed in many different genres including jazz, which is one of his favourite. Also a songwriter, Lee has many other talents and among them is playing the guitar. Lee has dabbled with several other instruments as well including the sitar which he cannot quite play just yet but plans to learn eventually.
After moving to Canada, Lee did several recordings, then in 2010 he collaborated with Canadian Fred Engler, a vibrant composer and keyboardist. The duo produced an album titled ‘From Now On’ which won the Best Song of the Year Award. The following year, Lee released his first album, ‘To Whom It May Concern’. He was then nominated for Canadian Smooth Jazz Singer of the Year for “Sparkle in her Eyes”, a track from ‘To Whom It May Concern’. “Sparkle in Her Eyes” hit major radio stations in Canada in 2011 and received good reviews from the public.
Lee has been doing well for himself. “Secret In My Heart”, released in May last year, was his last single to hit the market. The album of the same name, however, is still in the recording process and though a date has not been disclosed, it was mentioned that it will be released in the near future. ‘Secret’ will include ten tracks.
To date Lee has written 400 songs of which 24 were released. ‘Secret’ is being recorded at the Wallah Production Studio.
Being in the music business, Lee shared, has benefited him well that he can make for himself a comfortable life. “When you can express what’s so close to heart through music…,” he said. Singing gave me all the beautiful feelings I could ever feel within myself. [Among my inspirations] are my mother, Uncle Johnny Braff, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Billy Wade of Guyana. [I also listen to Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and draw inspiration from the way they sang a note or phrase,” Lee said. The artiste also makes a living as a certified voice trainer and offers weekly classes.
Speaking about the local music industry, Lee said, “There are some great talents coming out of Guyana these days but what I would like to see is our own sound coming out of Guyana to the international market that when we hear it we can say, that music is from Guyana.”
It has been 11 years since the Lee was last in Guyana. His visit, he shared, came through unfortunate circumstances when he lost his beloved mother. He hopes to visit again, sooner rather than later and aside from catching up with old friends, he intends to make up for his food cravings as well with black pudding, dhal and rice, and a mean Guyanese cookup. The next time around when he visits, he hopes to sing for his friends here just the way he used to in the years gone by. Lee likes to listen to Indian music and watch old time classical movies when he can. He is currently making plans to start working on music videos for his songs and high on his dream list is of someday winning a Grammy award.
Once ‘Secret’ hits the market, it will be available for purchase at Ssignal Productions.
