GARFIELD BLACKMAN
RAS SHORTY I -
1941 - 2000
By Kim Boodram
Express
July 20, 2000
Page 7
It
was a celebration of the life and achievements of a messenger
of love and unity.
It
was festival of song, an exploration of one man who lived every facet of life
and had many talents.
Ras
Shorty I's funeral service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port of Spain
yesterday attracted about 3,000 people dressed in a myriad of light colours.
No
dreary music crackling out of a radio here.
The
Love Circle, Ras Shorty I's children, took their instruments to the altar and
performed the songs that had made their father no ordinary musician.
The
entire church sang along to "Who Jah Bless", and of course,
"Watch Out My Children".
The
pre-service began at 9 a.m., for the working people who wanted a chance to be
part of the farewell.
But
by 8.30, droves had already filled the pews and aisles, waiting for the chance
to see Garfield Blackman one more time.
When
the proper service began at 10 a.m., people had grouped outside the Cathedral
to watch the sermons and eulogies on two television sets.
Canon
Winston Joseph said:
"Let
this be a celebration of his life.
Often, the good is the enemy of the best. When we knew him as Lord Shorty, he was good man, and the music
he sang was good. And then when he
moved to the forest and gave his life to God, he was the best."
Sheldon
Blackman referred to his father as "a messenger".
The
Blackman children held their grief.
They sang instead, as Sheldon referred to the occasion a "celebration"
and encouraged the church to sing along.
Others,
including Canon Joseph and Social Development Minister Manohar Ramsaran, echoed
the moniker, calling Ras Shorty the "messenger of peace and unity".
"I
urge everyone to live by his example and learn from his life," Blackman
said.
Austin
"SuperBlue" Lyons said Ras Shorty I was to soca what Bob Marley was
to Reggae. The church erupted.
Calling
widow Claudette Blackman up to the altar, SuperBlue sang Bob Marley's "No
Woman No Cry" and others in his friend's memory.
Ras
Shorty I's most acclaimed song, "Watch out my Children" will now live
on as the meaningful theme song of the United Nations Drug Prevention
Programme's fight against drugs.
So
said Caribbean Coordinator of the Programme Hans Geiser.
To
thunderous applause, Geiser said:
"The
message will live on in the worldwide campaign against drugs, and the
devastating effect it has on young people everywhere."
Minister
Manohar Ramsaran said that Ras Shorty I's accomplishments have surpassed his
lifespan.
"He
came full circle," Ramsaran said.
"Ras Shorty I was a visionary, and a philosopher with is influence
on the children of this country. He was
a perfect example of the path men should follow."
The
Prime Minister has also requested that "Watch out my Children" be
placed on the school syllabus, said Culture and Gender Affairs Minister Daphne
Phillips.
PM
Basdeo Panday was unable to attend the funeral, but sent his message through
the ministers.
In
his eulogy, cousin Herbert Christopher spoke at length about Ras Shorty I's
love for music and his multitude of talents.
"He
was inspired by his older brother George, who played the mouth organ,"
Christopher said. "And he was so
talented that he soon mastered the organ and the guitar."
Christopher
also said that many people may not be aware that Ras Shorty I was an incredible
actor, cricket player, boxer, tassa player, swimmer, volleyball player and a
billiards expert.
"The
thing I admired most about Ras Shorty, though, was his strength and determination
to stand behind his beliefs, even when public opinion was against him."
The
funeral service ended at non, when the light-brown mahogany coffin, decorated
with flowers, was borne out with a train of hundreds of people.
The
funeral proceeded to the Paradise Cemetery in San Fernando for burial, with
about one-quart of the Cathedral crowd in tow.
SHORTY'S TESTIMONY
By Afiya Butler
Express
July 20, 2000
Page 7
She
stood over him and touched his arms, which were folded neatly before him.
Then
she caressed his face. In one swift
movement, she covered her mouth, looked around her and blushed.
The
little girl standing before the coffin could not understand death. She turned to the woman police standing next
to her. Why did her grandfather look as
he did?
The
woman police explained that he had been refrigerated after he died and
therefore looked only as if he slept.
Then
little Nihelette Thornhill, daughter of Abbi Blackman and granddaughter of the
late Ras Shorty I, ran away.
Another
girl, Michaela Spencer, hugged her mother, Christine Paul, and hid her
tears. She had known him while he lived
and had always been treated as though she were one of his own. Then a sharp scream pierced the air. Calypsonian Marvelous Marva had given way to
grief. Her screams died slowly. This was the final farewell.
At
the Paradise Cemetery, thousands had awaited his arrival. Some had climbed the stairs of the St
Gabriel's Girls' Primary School, adjacent to the cemetery, hoping to get a
better view. Most wore white. A few gave way to tears. Not far away, calypsonian GB spoke of
Shorty's life. Singing along with his
records, GB danced as he said Shorty danced.
At
2.30 p.m. the viewing was ended and the coffin was taken away to the song,
"Watch out my Children".
In
his address, Mayor of San Fernando Gerard Ferreira said that Shorty had been
known in San Fernando as the "Big Man". Shorty, he said, was a man who walked the way of Emancipation. "But he didn't leave us in a vacuum. He left us with a challenge. He has shared with us not only his talent,
but also his family."
Minister
of Tourism Adesh Nanan brought greetings on behalf of the Government.
Then
there was the farewell from the Love Circle.
Leading his brothers and sisters, Sheldon began with "Watch out my
children" as others present at the ceremony sang along.
At
the end, pastor at Faith Centre in San Fernando Rev Carlysle Chankersingh
officiated.
"Some
people say that Sparrow is the greatest calypsonian in the world," he
said. "Others say that Kitchener
left a legacy that can never be matched.
This calypsonian, Ras Shorty I, left us testimony. He may be absent from us now, but he is
present with the Lord."
SHORTY A BOXER?!
By Keino Swamber
South Bureau
Express
July 19, 2000
Pages 32 and 33
Most
people would remember the late soca inventor, Garfield Blackman, from the time
he emerged on the music scene as Lord Shorty and then later on as Ras Shorty I.
But
few know of his early days as a boxer, pannist, arranger, tuner and actor while
growing up in Lengua Village, Princes Town having been born to parents, Conrad
and Nihil Blackman on October 5, 1941.
Herbert
Christopher, Shorty's first cousin and retired principal of the Moruga Composite
School, remembers the day Shorty entered a boxing ring at Skinner Park, San
Fernando against San Fernandian Wilton Grant.
"We
were part of a group called the Lengua Youth Movement (LYM), which was started
in 1959 by Ishmael Dookhan," said Christopher.
"During
that time, one of Shorty's cousins, Harold Durity, brought this trainer named
Buller Gordon who was Yolande Pompey's original trainer.
"Shorty
was a light-heavyweight and he went into this fight with Grant around 1964, but
he was no match for Grant, who was very experienced, and so he lost his very
first fight.
"That
was the last time Shorty ever boxed," laughed Christopher.
"I
continued, winning 23 fights and losing three."
Christopher
stated that Shorty's initiation in pan began during the days when he was still
a member of the LYM.
"We
had a steel orchestra, the Southern Harlemites, and that was started by Joseph
'Stretch' Collymore and Clifford Welcome from La Brea.
"Shorty
was one of the tenor players but he was so talented that in a short space of
time, he was playing every pan.
Collymore was also a tuner and he tuned the pans in Shorty's presence.
"Shorty
became a tuner himself and also became the arranger when 'Stretch' left."
Christopher
also credits the LYM for giving Shorty, then a tall, lanky teenager, his first
stage experience.
"Every
Saturday we used to have our very own scouting for talent competition where
members would come and display their talent," said Christopher.
"I
remember there was one Saturday in particular.
Shorty was the defending champion and he lost the crown to another
guy. He was so mad, he almost cried,
but he always looked forward to that competition."
Christopher
said that Shorty started composing his own songs while still a member of the
LYM.
"In
fact, we were the first to hear 'Sixteen Commandments', about four years before
he won the Calypso King of San Fernando title with it in 1970.
"By
the time he won the title, the song was history to us."
Christopher
said Shorty acted in a number of plays, including Shakespeare's 'Julius
Caesar', as well as 'Ti Jean and his Brothers', 'Billy the Kid', 'Vique and the
Boss' and 'The Harrowing of Benjie', in which Shorty played the lead role of
the Baptist preacher.
It
was Shorty's love for calypso that would cause him to get into trouble long
before he sang "The Art of Making Love" - a song, which incurred the
wrath of former Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams.
Christopher
remembers a particular incident in which he and Shorty were sitting on the
junction in Lengua singing a number of Sparrow's calypsoes…during the Lenten
season.
He
said he was about 16 years old and Shorty about 13.
"I
had a guitar made out of cedar and we were sitting there playing music and
sucking cane."
"His
mother, who was very religious, was coming up the road holding her tall boots
behind her back."
"It
was semi dark so we couldn't see her very well and as she reached about five
feet away from us, she shouted: 'You good-for-nothing. You playing calypso in Lent and you wouldn't
come and full water?'"
"She
just pelt the tall boots she had at Shorty and he raised the guitar to brakes
and that was the end of the guitar. I
was mad at the time but I saw how it happened."
Shorty,
who died of cancer last week, will be buried today at the Paradise Cemetery,
San Fernando.
OM SHANTI, SHORTY,
OM SHANTI
By Keith Smith
Editor-at-Large
Express
July 19, 2000
Page 17
Life Today, unlike yesterday
Friendship gone
Leaving hate and scorn,
Neighbour living like
stranger with neighbour
No love, sir, no, sir, for
one another
To unite people as one ah
create a song
Ah hope it live on from
generation to generation
Singing Om Shanti Om,
Shanti, Shanti Om …
The song you hear is an
Indian prayer
From ancient times
Created to soothe your mind
In danger, in anger,
remember
Sing this mantra, this
golden mantra
From the master
This song is doing a good,
people,
To struggle against the
devil …
Singing: Om Shanti Om,
Shanti, Shanti Om …
Sing the song as you go
along
Throughout your days
And it will guard your ways
Listen please listen to your
voice singing
There is a lesson, oh a
lesson that it is ringing
Any election taking
materialism
As religion is destruction …
When
I first heard "Om Shanti", I gleefully and gratefully wrote down the
words for newspaper publication. I was
the first one to do so and when it came out in the papers the next day I went
up to Queen's Hall where Shorty was singing under the management of Syl Taylor
who was one of the people who loved him and whom he considered to be the
"greatest tent manager ever".
When
I got there, however I met a vexed Shorty, those big eyes bulging with
annoyance because where I thought I had heard "boy" he had sung
"voice". It took me a while
to understand the steups with which he looked at me, but then I saw that what I
had, inadvertently, done was to ask the listener to turn outwards and listen to
Shorty when the song really was asking the listener to turn inwards and listen
to his inner consciousness. You would
think from the way Shorty reacted that I had ruined the song by that one
mistake and, perhaps, I had because while the song called for communication
from man to man, it held that this was only possible through communication from
man to God.
"Om
Shanti" remains my favourite Shorty song, which is saying plenty because
while he hasn't left a large body of work (those 20 years doing work in the
Piparo forest and elsewhere cutting down on his output or, perhaps, not so much
that as the fact that I can't think of a producer at the time who would have
been ready to risk his money on the religious music that Shorty was then
singing), he left a range.
He
chose "Om Shanti's form deliberately.
If it represented the pinnacle of the musical fusion he was looking for
and to which he had ebb heading in other songs the Indian/African synthesis
also represented the unity for which, this son of Lengua, was hoping, pleading
even, between the tribe into which he was born and the tribe into which he was
also acculturated.
After
all he had sung in "Keep in Touch":
People let's get together
Helping out one another
Things could be so much
better
Working like brother and
sister
Are you listening to my
singing
While the music playing?
Are your feelings
harmonising
Or is there something
missing?
Keep in touch with what I
have to say
Keep in touch; don't let
your mind wander away
Be aware we were put here to
share
Together, the presence of
one another
Understand this brother…
People let's get together
Helping out one another
Things could be so much better
Working like brother and
sister
Serving one master, the
father Jah
Let's get together
Help, help, help one another
If he is falling
Doh pass by laughing
Stretch your hands to him
And don't be bitter towards
your neighbour
One day you'll need a
favour…
Keep in touch be
compassionate and kind
Keep in touch leaving your
hate and anger behind
What foolishness of colour
and race is this
The Creator have no colour
or race or culture
He is everybody's father
People, people, let's get
together…
Going back to Africa or to
India
Is a dream my brother
Your ambition have no
direction
It is an illusion…
I
don't know if Shorty's wish will be fulfilled and the beautiful "Om
Shanti" song he made will "live on from generation to
generation", but I do know that, as poets always are, he was ahead of the
most of the rest of us in the business of what the politicians call
"national unity" even suggesting that we are here not by historical
accident but by divine design, a theory that has mind-boggling implications for
those who say they believe.
The
last memory of him I have is of him lying on that nondescript hospital bed, his
huge frame all but overflowing it, the icon all but ignored, fretting (he was
to discharge himself the next day) that none of the nursing personnel in the
ward was taking him on ("Is five to a bed in the hospital," he had
lamented fully 20 years earlier).
Even
so, he found both the time and enough of his wasting energy to remonstrate with
me about my own soul, insisting that there is no salvation unless "you be
born again of water and the Holy Spirit", his call to Catholic me being
that I become baptized in the submerging manner of the Pentecostals, I suppose,
although I doubt he would have called himself that, the man believing that,
Baptism and the Bible was enough, not that organised religion was not very
well.
I believe
that only in Trinidad would a "Shorty" have been possible, this
calypsonian stud turned evangelising Christian, this Hindi-speaking,
Indian/African - influenced Rasta musician who sought in his spiritual songs to
urge his compatriots towards a harmonising unity born out of a love both for
divine God ad human neighbour, that being the essence with the remaining ritual
of rules an regulations being but commentary.
Come to think of it, as we lay him to rest today, perhaps we need do no
more than sing not, as lament but as love, the song with which I began, the
song being enough in and by itself, the rest of this column being likewise,
mere commentary however useful it was meant to be.