Contents - Beth Lesser

Back in town, with a stronger, though still nasal, voice, Little John recorded
an LP for Jah Thomas. Reggae Dance came out in the UK in 1982, followed
by Junjo’s Give the Youth a Try. But it was the recording with Channel One’s
Kenneth Hookim that broke him big. Look How Them Work Us So Hard,
made the sound circuit on dubplate for a long time before being released to
the public. By the time it was released as a 45, Little John was one of the biggest
stars of dancehall.
Then George Phang came along. With ‘Roots Girl’ and ‘True Confessions’,
on Phang’s Powerhouse label, John’s success on record began to reflect the true
extent of his popularity in the dance. ‘True Confessions’ was an instant hit. It
was built off a popular old time Silvertones recording called ‘Dear Mr. Editor’.
Little John was just 18.
Toyan
Toyan was small in stature, like Little John, but rougher around the edges,
with a gruff voice, forceful delivery and a habit of giving a little gasp for air
between lines. “Me, as a youth, used to thief,” Toyan recalled of his childhood.
“You know, sell herb and things, just for a living. More times I embarrass
financially. And, bwoy, Jamaica rough! You have no choice. You have to
look food. You see, no one give me bread. My mother, father poor. So I have
to look [after] myself, every time.”
When Toyan decided to devote himself to a career of music, he hooked up
with Don Mais of Roots Tradition, the man who had worked with Greenwich
Farm artists like Sammy Dread, Phillip Frazer and Peter Ranking. Don released
his first 45 in 1975. But, it wasn’t until he started working with Junjo
that he was recognized internationally. When the LP, How the West Was Won,
was released by Greensleeves in 1981, the UK went mad for Toyan. In fact, it
shocked Toyan to see the different response he got in England. He had hits in
Jamaica, but he was never considered to be in the top ranks. In England, they
were mad over him.
Toyan seemed to thrive on the freedom and spontaneity offered by a life
in show biz. Like a grown man with a child trapped inside, Toyan was always
up to something. He would climb trees, balance on fences and spontenieously
dance and deejay anywhere at all. In Kingston, he used to roar through the
ghettos on his motorcycle with a nattily dressed Little John perched on the
back. From Volcano Corner to Channel One, Toyan and Little John would
zoom around the city, joking and laughing. But Toyan had a wild streak that
proved fatal.
Little John has a note of sadness, in his voice when he talks about his long
time sparring partner Toyan. “Toyan is a good friend. Me and him grow. Toyan
was like my father, in a sense, because he was a little bit older than I am.
Him used to guide me in the fraternity. Him see, seh, me have potential and
he have me behind him, everywhere that I go in the world, it’s me and Toyan.”
But Toyan couldn’t leave guns alone. “I talk to him before he died, you
146 | RUB A DUB STYLE – The Roots of Modern Dancehall