Spouge
Encyclopedia
Spouge On earlier album labels the word appears as spooge. A Music form of Barbados created by Dalton Bishop who performed as Jackie Opel in the 1960s. It is differentiated from Reggae by having a more even and repetitive backbeat. It is said to be primarily a fusion of ska
with calypso
, but is also influenced by a wide variety of music forms from the British Isles and United States, include sea shanties
, hymns and spiritual with percussion instruments, later augmented by saxophone
, trombone
and trumpet
. Janice Millington, musician and author, lists the American and British influences as including Welsh, Scottish and Irish elements, "transmitted through literature and poetry (Shakespeare and Milton),], edification and general education to all people of Barbados. North American love songs, parrd to a cultural mixture in which the love of a song, the expression through movement, and demand for theater continue to be of paramount importance".
Two different kinds of spouge were popular in the 1960s, raw spouge (Draytons Two style) and dragon spouge (Cassius Clay style). The spouge industry grew immensely by the end of the 1970s, and produced popular stars like Blue Rhythm Combo, the Draytons Two
and The Troubadours, Desmond Weekes. Desmond Weekes the former lead singer of the Drayton Two claims the 1973 album Raw Spouge to be "the only 100 per cent spouge album ever produced. The album topped the charts in a number of islands, including but not limited to St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Dominica
.
In 2002 Caribbean Records Inc released a CD entitled Vintage Spouge with hits on it such as Gimme Music by Mike Grosvenor, Any Day Now by Richard Stoute and a cover of Sam Cooke
's You Send Me
, sung by spouge creator Jackie Opel.
Spouge is a style of Barbadian created music created by Jackie Opel in the 1960’s. It is a fusion of Jamaican Ska and Trinidad calypso but it also had influences from a wide variety of music from Britain and the United States.
Jackie Opel, whose name was Dalton Bishop was also known as “man face”. He was born in Chapman Lane, Bridgetown in 1933. He lived in lower class, depressed circumstances. From an early age Jackie frequented the “red light” area of Nelson Street so, that he could be near “juke boxes” to listen and sing along to his idol Jackie Wilson of the USA.
In 1950, Jackie with a band at Coconut Creek Club, St James and his Jackie Wilson like voice soon made him popular. He appear on some local shows with well-known overseas performers, and Jackie Opel the supporting act usually became the star performer as he vigorously performed every note and “out shone” the star. During this time Ska the forerunner beat to the reggae was popular in Jamaica and calypso was popular in Trinidad. So Jackie Opel and his band the troubadours developed the Spouge beat which was to be Barbados’ answer to Ska in Jamaica and Calypso in Trinidad. Spouge became so popular, that every local band and signer in Barbados and throughout the Caribbean recorded, their music using the Spouge beat. Spouge’s popularity spread throughout to the extent that the Spouge beat became even more popular than Ska or Calypso. Unfortunately after six years the art form declined to the extent that today very little Spouge is played on the airwaves. Spouge is only played on Jackie Opel’s Birthday, Independence Day, Heroes Day and Errol Barrow Day. Spouge has declined from other reasons:
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
with calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, but is also influenced by a wide variety of music forms from the British Isles and United States, include sea shanties
Sea shanty
A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...
, hymns and spiritual with percussion instruments, later augmented by saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
. Janice Millington, musician and author, lists the American and British influences as including Welsh, Scottish and Irish elements, "transmitted through literature and poetry (Shakespeare and Milton),], edification and general education to all people of Barbados. North American love songs, parrd to a cultural mixture in which the love of a song, the expression through movement, and demand for theater continue to be of paramount importance".
Two different kinds of spouge were popular in the 1960s, raw spouge (Draytons Two style) and dragon spouge (Cassius Clay style). The spouge industry grew immensely by the end of the 1970s, and produced popular stars like Blue Rhythm Combo, the Draytons Two
Draytons Two
The Draytons Two were a popular Barbadian spouge band of the 1970s, and were known for their own unique style of syncretic style, spouge, known as raw spouge. Raw Spouge is also a Draytons Two album....
and The Troubadours, Desmond Weekes. Desmond Weekes the former lead singer of the Drayton Two claims the 1973 album Raw Spouge to be "the only 100 per cent spouge album ever produced. The album topped the charts in a number of islands, including but not limited to St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
.
In 2002 Caribbean Records Inc released a CD entitled Vintage Spouge with hits on it such as Gimme Music by Mike Grosvenor, Any Day Now by Richard Stoute and a cover of Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's You Send Me
You Send Me
-Background:Cooke made a demo recording of "You Send Me" featuring only his own guitar accompaniment in the winter of 1955. The first recording of the track was made in New Orleans in December 1956 in the same sessions which produced "Lovable", the first release outside the gospel field for Cooke...
, sung by spouge creator Jackie Opel.
Spouge is a style of Barbadian created music created by Jackie Opel in the 1960’s. It is a fusion of Jamaican Ska and Trinidad calypso but it also had influences from a wide variety of music from Britain and the United States.
Jackie Opel, whose name was Dalton Bishop was also known as “man face”. He was born in Chapman Lane, Bridgetown in 1933. He lived in lower class, depressed circumstances. From an early age Jackie frequented the “red light” area of Nelson Street so, that he could be near “juke boxes” to listen and sing along to his idol Jackie Wilson of the USA.
In 1950, Jackie with a band at Coconut Creek Club, St James and his Jackie Wilson like voice soon made him popular. He appear on some local shows with well-known overseas performers, and Jackie Opel the supporting act usually became the star performer as he vigorously performed every note and “out shone” the star. During this time Ska the forerunner beat to the reggae was popular in Jamaica and calypso was popular in Trinidad. So Jackie Opel and his band the troubadours developed the Spouge beat which was to be Barbados’ answer to Ska in Jamaica and Calypso in Trinidad. Spouge became so popular, that every local band and signer in Barbados and throughout the Caribbean recorded, their music using the Spouge beat. Spouge’s popularity spread throughout to the extent that the Spouge beat became even more popular than Ska or Calypso. Unfortunately after six years the art form declined to the extent that today very little Spouge is played on the airwaves. Spouge is only played on Jackie Opel’s Birthday, Independence Day, Heroes Day and Errol Barrow Day. Spouge has declined from other reasons:
- The man who created Spouge died in an accident on March 9, 1970 at the age of 32. It is believed that if he had lived he would have been one to further develop and market the beat around the world.
- The media does not promote Spouge to the extent that it can. Over the years foreign artists and their music have been given priority over local music.
- In the early popular years of Spouge it is believed that it suffered “over play” which, made it boring, in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Sources
- http://www.caribarts.org/viewArtist.cfm?artistID=3801
- http://www.numusiczone.com/country.php?country=Barbados