Today I bring you some sound advice from Clancy Eccles, care of his 1969 Ska number “Bag A Boo (Don’t Brag, Don’t Boast).” Born December 9th 1940, in Dean Pen in the parish of St. Mary, Jamaica, Clancy moved to Kingston in 1959 where his musical career began to take off. Soon, he added “concert promoter” and “record producer” to his resume, and was instrumental in the musical shift from rocksteady to reggae.
Political by nature, Eccles supported the democratic socialist Michael Manley’s People’s National Party (PNP) during Jamaica’s 1972 prime ministerial elections by organizing a “Bandwagon” tour featuring musicians such as Bob Marley & the Wailers, Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, Delroy Wilson, and Inner Circle (The New York Times, 2005). Manley, on the platform of “Better Must Come,” went on to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Hugh Shearer. Manley remained in office until 1980, during an era blighted by escalating political violence, and was reelected to this position in 1989.
On June 30th of 2005, Clancy Eccles died at the age of 64 from complications of a heart attack in a Spanish Town hospital. Here’s what Bob Dylan (2008) had to say regarding Mr. Eccles: “What I like about him is that his music has both religious and political overtones. It’s religion and politics with a good bassline.”
So guys & girls, remember the value of humility, or, as Abraham Lincoln put it: “What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself” (Think Exist, 2011).
——————————————————(Click To Listen)
Like it? Buy it.
———————————–Bobby Calero
Ref:
Dylan, B. (2008). Music that matters to him. In Artist’s Choice-Bob Dylan: Music That Matters To Him (p. 6) [CD liner notes]. Sony BMG for Starbucks
Eccles, C. (1969). Bag A Boo (Don’t Brag, Don’t Boast) [recorded by Clancy Eccles]. On Fatty Fatty: 1967-1970 [CD] Sanctuary Trojan. (2003)
The New York Times. (2005, July 2). Clancy Eccles Dies at 64; Produced Reggae Hits. The New York Times. Retrieved January 19th, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/arts/music/02eccles.html
Think Exist. (2011). Abraham Lincoln Quotes. ThinkExist.com. Retrieved January 19th, 2012 from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/what_kills_a_skunk_is_the_publicity_it_gives/220847.html
A Mouthful of Pennies 