Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984

University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 5-18-2007 Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984 Caree Banton University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Banton, Caree, "Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984" (2007). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 508. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/508 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974 – 1984 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In History By Caree Ann-Marie Banton B.A. Grambling State University 2005 B.P.A Grambling State University 2005 May 2007 Acknowledgement I would like to thank all the people that facilitated the completion of this work. My sincerest gratitude to my parents: Joan Gayle, Prince Banton, and Nerissa and Joseph Christie. I wish to thank my high school teachers and college professors that pointed me in the direction of history. The work of thesis committee members deserves my sincerest appreciation. As such, many thanks to Dr. Mary Niall Mitchell, Dr. Raphael Cassimere and Dr. Connie Atkinson. This work would not be possible without the goodwill of Dr. Guenter Bischof, Dr. James Mohkiber, Sherrie Sanders, Michelle and Jerome Vining and members of the history department. To all others, also I say thank you. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................v Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Colonialism, Slavery and Movement for Independence in Jamaica ................ 10 Chapter 2 The development of Reggae in the Post-Independence Era ..............................12 Chapter 3 Democratic Socialism within Michael Manley’s Administration .....................16 Chapter 4 Cold War intervention in Jamaican politics ......................................................20 Chapter 5 The rise of Edward Seaga ..................................................................................28 Chapter 6 The development of dancehall ..........................................................................34 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 43 Citations: Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 47 References: Bibliography ...................................................................................................50 Vita .....................................................................................................................................54 iii List of Figures Figure 1………Bob Marley attempts to unite Jamaican leaders at 1978 One Love Peace Concert. Figure 2……….Clancy Eccles’ record “Joshua’s Rod of Correction” with Manley holding Rod Figure 3……….Michael Manley and Fidel Castro embrace each other in 1970 iv Abstract The story of Jamaican music is also one of the island’s journey from independence, the rise of nationalism and changes in its political structure in the Cold War era. Reggae as a popular form, developed in the context of Jamaica’s history of colonialism and slavery, as well as the island’s development as an independent nation within the African Diaspora. Michael Manley’s policy of democratic socialism leading to U.S. intervention to destabilize his government in the mid-1970s and the installation of the pro-American Edward Seaga, in 1980, led to considerable changes in Jamaican political culture and nationalism. Inextricable from changes in the nation’s political culture, however, were changes in its popular culture, namely, the transition in popular music from reggae to what became known as “dancehall.” The history of reggae and the rise of dancehall in the period from 1974 to 1984 this thesis argues, was integral to the transformation of Jamaican nationalism and politics in the decades following independence. v Introduction One little bwoy come blow him horn. And mi look pon him wid scorn And mi realize how me five bwoy-picni was a victim of de trick Dem call partisan poli-tricks.1 --“Me Cyaan Believe It,” Michael Smith . Said one Rasta to me in Kingston in 1980, Mon! You know what politics mean? Poli, is Greek for many. Tic, you know what that is mon? That is a parasite. Politics: - Many Parasites.2 --Jamaica Under Manley, Michael Kaufman Early in his career, Bob Marley brought radical, politically charged reggae music to the Jamaican airwaves. In the month of December 1976, however, while Marley rehearsed for his “Smile Jamaica” Concert — an event meant to heal political strife in Jamaica — gunmen made an attempted assassination on his life, driving him into exile. Two years later, on April 22, 1978, the reggae star returned to Jamaica in an effort to placate political violence and to fight what many believed were attempts by the United States to aggravate Jamaica’s political divisions and to bankrupt its socialist government. At his 1978 stage-show, the “One Love Peace” concert, Bob Marley brought the socialist Prime Minister Michael Manley and the pro-American opposition leader Edward Seaga to the stage. Michael Manley, elected in 1972 as the candidate of the People’s National Party’s (PNP), disliked what he considered to be the neo-colonialist policies of the United States. After two years in office, Manley’s leftist tendencies had raised U.S. suspicions and led to American efforts to destabilize his government, leaving Jamaica and Jamaicans in grim circumstances. Manley’s political opponent, the Jamaica Labor Party’s candidate (JLP) Edward Seaga, by contrast, soon gained the favor of the U.S. government because of his pro-capitalist stance and eagerness to see American investment in Jamaica. 1 As the ideologies of these political leaders clashed, it not only brewed bitter rivalry in Jamaican electoral politics but also among political strong-armed gangs in the ghettoes of Kingston, which contributed to increased civil unrest and instability in Jamaica. Gang violence quickly became a reflection of the Jamaican political state of affairs. The dub poet, Michael Smith’s, “Poli-tricks” limerick (above), reflected a nation torn apart by political strife. Like Smith and Marley, reggae musicians and other artists became some of the most important commentators on the rising political warfare in Jamaica, particularly their effect on the nation’s poor. Bunny Wailer, Marley’s band-mate from the band “The Wailers,” described Marley as “the eyes and ears” of the Jamaican underclass, who had risen out of the ghetto through his music. By the mid-70s, Marley had become the widely acclaimed reggae king, and his musical message resonated among the majority of Jamaicans. At the same time, his acquired wealth placed him in a position of power, even above most of Jamaica’s political “big shots.” Many Jamaicans saw Marley, in particular, as the man who could use reggae music to speak for the underprivileged. Aware of the power of music, particularly reggae, Marley had noted in his 1975 song “Trench Town Rock” that “One good thing about music / When it hits you, you feel no pain.”3 The “One Love Peace” concert was a direct effort to use music and its foremost troubadour to “hit” the “many parasites” of politics that they believed engendered the escalation of violence in Jamaica. Hoping to inject the concept of love and unity into the politically divided and warring garrison communities, the concert organizers proposed a truce between Jamaica’s opposing political leaders by the symbolic gesture of their united hands on stage. [Fig. 1] As ghetto gunmen and garrison leaders in the audience looked on, Marley joined the hands of Michael Manley and Edward Seaga while singing, “I just want to shake hands and 2 show the people that we’re gonna unite/ The moon is high over my head and I give my love instead/ Show the people that everything is gonna be alrite.”4 Marley’s political gesture, expressed through his music, not only captured the perceived power of reggae music, but also demonstrated its intimate relationship with politics and Jamaican nationalism. This snapshot of Jamaican political leaders joining hands at the urging of Bob Marley illustrated the political importance of Jamaican music, placing it at

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