By Howard Campbell
KINGSTON, Jamaica – With the death of Bob Andy, singer Bamm Holt has renewed a call for the legacy of pioneer Jamaican artists to be documented.
Andy, one of reggae’s great singer/songwriters, died at age 75 on March 27 in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. Like many of his contemporaries from the 1960s and 1970s, he was unknown to the dancehall generation.
“It’s very important to keep documentaries like these in production. It’s does justice not only for the culture but for the future so that great artists like Bob Andy who we consider the forefathers will not go unnoticed,” said Holt.
Bamm Holt is the grandson of John Holt, arguably reggae’s most influential singer. John Holt replaced Andy in The Paragons, a rocksteady trio that had a number of hit songs during the 1960s.
He is currently working on Voltz of Holt, a documentary about his grandfather who died in 2014. To date, he has interviewed relatives and persons involved in the music industry who knew his “Gramps”.
Many Jamaicans have long lamented the lack of archival material on musicians who helped put their country on the map. There is skimpy data in Jamaica on artists like Desmond Decker, Millie Small and The Blues Busters.
The same can be said of pioneer music producers Clement “Coxson” Dodd and Arthur “Duke” Reid, who were responsible for releasing the majority of songs recorded by acts like Andy and John Holt.
Interestingly, Bob Andy had a career revival of sorts in the 1990s. Fire Burning, one of his biggest songs, was covered by his former partner Marcia Griffiths and topped reggae charts in Jamaica, the United States and United Kingdom.
Bamm Holt, who launched his career in late 2019, is currently promoting his latest song, One Thing.
He has no release date for Voltz of Holt but hopes it will set the pace for similar projects on ‘foundation’ artists.
“Their contribution to reggae music should always be remembered and cherished,” he said.
