Scakes captured sentiments of time
by Colin King
One of the most memorable events arising out of St Vincent and the Grenadines Independence in 1979 was the release of a special song from Vibrating Scakes (Kenneth Alleyne): âOur Nation is Bornâ.
It has become the hallmark for Independence time celebrations, of which I can only think of two pieces which come close, Joel Miguelâs anthem and Becketâs âSt Vincent, I love youâ.{{more}} It captured the sentiments of the time, âone history, one ecstasy, one destiny for all oâ we,â âcolonialism is gone.â As Scakes said at the beginning of the track, gist: The future is a question markâ¦
Scakes has been a competing calypsonian, as of 2015, thirty years in total. He has lived up to the traditional role of calypsonian, as commentator, observer, and reporter, in fine style that has seen him a player and a winner in the calypso game several times over. In St Vincent and the Grenadines in the new millennium, when we are being besieged by a different sort of âforeign cultureâ, a musician and thinker such as Scakes is a dying breed, as Vincies embrace âfun in the sunâ with no regard for the consequences of the issues plaguing Vincentian nationality.
Scakes traces his roots of interest to 1956 and Sparrowâs âJean and Dinahâ, which was one of the first songs he performed as a youth, playing and singing it mostly in family moments. Scakesâ home at that time was the fifth building from the courthouse, where his father, a photographer from Trinidad, ran a photo shop âAlleyneâs Photo Studio,â adjacent to a candy shop.
Scakes first career was, however, not in music, but in education. He started teaching at the Richmond Hill Primary School in 1970, and kept that gig for 10 years. All that time though, Scakes was hardly ever without his guitar, and he would play with friends, fellow amateurs, and this grew into a musical group, âFort Charlotte Redemptionâ, which featured rival âPatchesâ Knightsâ brother â Kent Knights.
Scakes was discovered by impresario Cameron King, who at the time organized a very popular musical showcase â âFirestickâ, says Scakes.
âIn 1972, we were playing our guitars and singing next to the pavement….and here comes a gentleman (King) in a red car, who told us we were sounding very good.â
That led to an appearance at Firestick.
Scakes was also affiliated with Kingâs cultural group âVinifolk,â which produced a number of cultural musical recordings (one of which is the memorable âBack to the Landâ). Says Scakes, âWe joined the group, played in hotels in the Grenadines and on the mainland…. I made my first recording with Vinifolk in 1973 (four songs recorded in Barbados). The songs included âSpirit in the Darkâ, and âRising and Fallingâ, which featured my vocals and also Crispus Creeseâs âBack to de Landâ and Earla Sutherlandâs âCare your Loveâ (these songs are played on âculturalâ radio up to today).
1975 saw Scakes using one of these songs, âSpirit in the Dark,â as his debut in the Carnival calypso competition.
Here is a blow by blow (mostly) of Scakesâ career as calypso competitor.
In 1976, âRevive Carnivalâ won him third place. In â77 he made the semi-finals with âScankingâ. â78 was a milestone for him and part of a very productive period and post-debut success, as he topped the list with âBionic Manâ and âMusic in Meâ. â79 of course featured the most memorable Independence song (he topped that competition also) with âOur Nation is Bornâ. He made finals again in 82 and copped the Road March with âMambo in the Discoâ in 83.
The list continues highlighting his placements: â84, third place with âHula Hoopâ and â150 years Emancipationâ.
Of these songs, Scakes evoked a black consciousness mindset, with a Marcus Garvey reference. â85, he continued the streak, just shy of the top spot in second place with âThey go love youâ. In â86, he was once again conscious, message oriented with âWho help to make my Calypsoâ and âBig Deal,â which highlighted the controversial sale of the Orange Hill estate.
From 1987 and onwards for the next few years, Scakes maintained that calypsonians needed to be, or to sound and impact âin disguiseâ and to seem oblivious as to what the selection was âall aboutâ. In â89 âRise to the Occasionâ saw him at the finals, but he failed to place.
1991 signalled a return to the top of the game, where he placed third that year with âPrinciplesâ and in â92 with âStand up and fight,â which delivered a non-violent solution to the problem of exploitation of women and children, which garnered a second consecutive third place.
In 1994, his third Calypso Monarch crown was won, cementing his participation as a force to be reckoned with over time, just shy of 20 years since his debut in the mid-seventies. The songs were âA Time of Healing,â which featured the case of a girl who was murdered in Calliaqua, and âNo Boundaries,â which lamented the ânature of lifeâ (in SVG) and the tendency towards separation, tug-of war, rather than unity, as SVG began to embrace external mores, more and more.
1995 was probably the most controversial year of the calypso competition thus far. All 10 finalists (including Scakes) scored within one decimal point of each other 154.1 to 154.9. It was also the year a judge walked out. Scakes returned the following year with a satirical piece aimed at judges: âCoffee for the Judgesâ.
In 1998, Scakes stayed out of the competition, but took on the role of producer, producing the Queen of Calypso show.
His next win took place in 2007, with the songs âBuild Bridges and âThe Challenge,â which addressed escalating crime, making it four-time monarch for Scakes.
2010 saw Scakesâ work reflecting prophesy in âSue,â aimed at what he viewed as Ralph Gonsalvesâ poor âfinancial management,â in which he predicted that NCB would be sold, which in fact it was, three months later.
Just this year, 2015, Scakes was placed third with a double entendre piece âDancing at 64,â reflecting the view that âold school calypso run thingsâ and a comment on the direction local music is taking in the âHere and Nowâ.
Scakesâ advice for young would be calypsonians is that they should not pray for genius for them to evolve; they should be geniuses in themselves.
Scakes has been married for 21 years, with four sons and five grandsons and with his own little dynasty in place, makes his own lifestyle a reflection of someone with values.