For the first time since 1966, there will be no Festival or Popular Song Contest. Instead, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, producers of the event, launched a campaign for fans to vote online for their favourite song. Today, the Jamaica Observer publishes the third in a six-part series on past competitions.

THERE was no hotter drummer than Sly Dunbar in Jamaica in 1976. He was part of The Revolutionaries, prolific house band at Channel One studio in Kingston.

Dunbar was so in demand that the Inner Circle band enlisted him to play on All Night Till Daylight, a song Jacob Miller would record for the Festival Song Contest.

The 24-year-old Dunbar was also down to play on Dance Dis Ya Festival by singer Freddie McKay, Channel One’s entry in the competition.

It turned out to be a quinella for Dunbar, as fans responded to McKay’s passionate call to make a fashion statement in Dance Dis Ya Festival.

It got the better of All Night Till Daylight, Miller’s humorous tale of two sisters from rural Manchester who travelled to Kingston for the CARIFESTA event.

Dunbar had previously worked with both performers. He had greater success with the rising Miller, playing on his hits Shaky Girl and Forward Ever, Backward Never.

He recalled meeting with Ian and Roger Lewis of Inner Circle, suggesting that they record All Night at Channel One.

“It had a better drum room than at Joe Gibbs where they wanted to record. Channel One also had a better board an’ yuh got a great sound,” Dunbar recalled. “I told them, ‘if yuh record at Channel One yuh going win’ but Ian Lewis said no.”

All Night Till Daylight was recorded at Gibbs’ studio, then the biggest rival to Channel One, which was owned by the Hoo Kim brothers (Joseph, Ernest and Paul).

According to Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, his colleague from Channel One, played bass on the song. The Lewis brothers played lead and rhythm guitar, and another Inner Circle member, Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey, worked on keyboards.

McKay’s song was cut at Channel One the following week. In addition to Dunbar, Shakespeare played guitar, Bertram ‘Ranchie’ McLean (bass), Ansell Collins (keyboards) and Bobby Ellis (trumpet).

Dunbar says he used different drum patterns for both songs, but believes the clincher was the studio sound.

“Festival suppose to be a happy time an’ when yuh listen to Freddie McKay yuh get dat feeling. Jacob song had dat to, but Dance Dis Ya Festival have more bounce because of how Channel One set up,” he explained.

Dance Dis Ya Festival remains one of the most popular Festival Song winners. The Linstead-born McKay died in November 1986.

All Night Till Daylight is also still a hit. Miller became a reggae superstar with Inner Circle, his meteoric rise tragically ended in March, 1980 when he was killed in an auto accident in Kingston.