LORD FLY Medley Jamaican Mento Calypso ORIGINAL 78 Rare

$

42

YOU ARE BIDDING ON A 78 RPM 10" RECORD

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This 78 RPM single of urban style mento released on M.R.S. is believed to be the very first Jamaican record.

Lord Fly's real name was Rupert Lyon. He was about 46 when the record was made, and carried on playing until shortly before his death in 1967. The A-side was a medley of Jamaican folk tunes, and the "Wheel and turn me/bust me belly pon de tambourine" lyric was later used by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1966 on "Rude Boy".

Mention Jamaican music and people immediately think of Reggae. Anyone with half an interest in the subject will tell you that the roots of the music lie in the U.S.A. through Jamaican Rhythm & Blues and on from Ska to Rock Steady but a knowledge of the influence and importance of the music known as Mento has, until recently, remained the sole preserve of musical scholars.

Mento began as a simple rural dance music but as it moved to the cities, following the migration of country people in the nineteen forties, it became the backing for highly erotic dance performances in Kingston’s bars and nightclubs. It was usually performed by small groups of musicians playing banjo, guitar, fife, maracas, and a ‘rumba box’ occasionally augmented by a bamboo saxophone and violin and, in its later urban based context, violin, clarinet, saxophone and piano. Mento’s origins are, naturally enough, of African descent but the music also demonstrates considerable European influences.

The credit for the first ever Jamaican record goes to a medley of Mento songs by Lord Fly (Bertie Lyons) released on the MRS (Motta’s Recording Studio) label in 1951. There were three main players in the Mento business: Stanley Motta, Ivan Chin and Ken Khouri.

Before Stanley Motta opened his recording studio on Hanover Street in downtown Kingston in 1951 and began cutting Mento sides by local artists there was no indigenous Jamaican recording business. Ivan S. Chin, another stalwart champion of Mento music, owned Chin’s Radio Service in Kingston where he recorded over eighty Mento sides featuring Chin’s Calypso Sextet. Ken Khouri would go on to establish Federal Records and play a pivotal role in the Jamaican recording industry.

MRS 02A&B
Motta’s Recording Studio
Stanley Motta, Kingston, Jamaica, B. W. I.
Serial No. SSS.2031X & 2032X

MEDLEY OF JAMAICAN MENTO-CALYPSOS

Linstead Market
Hol’ him Joe
Dog war a mattuse lane
Manuel Road

PLAYED BY
Dan Williams and his Orchestra
Vocal: Lord Fly

b/w

CALYPSO
Strike, Strike, Strike

PLAYED BY
Dan Williams and His Orchestra
Vocal: Lord Fly

Clean label. Record has all its original gloss.

RECORD IS GRADED “A-B”

Please note that scanned images may not precisely reproduce label color.

"A" As new or excellent
"A-B" Very good, slight signs of wear
"B" Good, wear more pronounced
"B-C" Fair, signs of frequent use with a heavy arm
"C" Worn, not recommended except for extremely rare 78's

FOR COMBINED SHIPPING:
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and I can't re-open packages once they are sealed and ready to go.

COMBINED SHIPPING COSTS:
$4.00 for the 1st 78 rpm 12" disc
$1.00 for each additional disc.

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PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED
WITHIN 10 DAYS OF AUCTION END.