KINGSTON, Jamaica – Drums and other historical artefacts belonging to the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari and used in the birth of Jamaica’s popular music were destroyed in a fire at Rockfort in East Kingston recently. 

The  group of drummers, founded by Count Ossie, played on the internationally renowned hit Oh Carolina, the infectious ska number recorded by the Folkes Brothers in 1958 and which has been re-recorded several times inlcuding by Shaggy.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the two-room dwelling where the instruments were stored, Count Ossie’s son, Samuel Williams, also called ‘Time’, was a picture of despair.

“These drums are older than me, and I am 56. I have been playing drums since I was eight and I have no other trade. All I do is play drums,” he said as he shook his head slowly.

Williams said the drums were the original ones used by his father in the pioneering days and their destruction by fire had dealt a serious blow to the preservation of that aspect of Jamaica’s culture, which continues to make a huge impact worldwide.

KARYL WALKER

See full story in Wednesday’s Daily Observer