DENNIS BROWN: Still without much honour

Brown... a hit with the ladies

By Balford Henry, Observer writer

Sunday, February 1, will mark the 47th anniversary of the birth of the late reggae star, Dennis Brown.

The 'Crown Prince of Reggae", as he was know to his many fans at home and abroad, provided the impetus to generations of Jamaican singers who developed on his style, including the late Jacob Miller, Richie Stephens and George Nooks.

But, since his death on July 1, 1999 at the age of 42, hardly anything has been heard about his posterity.

Not so, says businessman Junior Lincoln, who heads the five-year-old Dennis Brown Foundation, which seeks to foster his name and achievements.

"Just give us another five years and you will be surprised at how much we will have achieved. We are making a lot of progress," Lincoln said.

However, some Dennis Brown fans maintain that not enough has been done to cherish his achievements. They still rue the fact that he was not given a state funeral, no national honour or a monument over his grave at National Heroes Park.

"That was probably due to his lifestyle or people's perception of his lifestyle," said one former colleague who did not wish to be named.

Lincoln says that in time the Foundation will address all the issues left in the wake of his untimely death. He claims that the reason Brown was not given a national honour was because these honours are not given posthumously. But, according to Jamaica Federation of Musicians president, Desmond Young, that was not an official explanation and in addition, up to recently other artistes have been honoured posthumously.

"I think he should be honoured," said Tommy Cowan, who handled Brown's bookings up to the time of his death.

"His talent and contribution outweighed that of many people who have been honoured but, unfortunately, they look more at the perception of him rather than what he actually achieved."

According to Young, the JFM will be putting forward his name for national honour this year.

"We will be doing our part and we wish that all the people who feel the same way will make their voices heard, too," Young said. He added that being buried in Heroes Park was a signal honour for Brown, but not enough. Brown certainly has held the respect of his fans and contemporaries, though.

Last night (Thursday) at a press reception at the Knutsford Court Hotel, a five-day programme to honour his memory was revealed by his former associates.

The Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) will be playing an important role in these celebrations starting with a show at their headquarters, 30 Haining Road, Kingston tonight, featuring Brown's former backing band, Lloyd Parkes & We The People, and artistes performing the late singer's best-known songs.

Saturday again at the same venue, they will be taking turns selecting his recorded music. On Sunday, several radio stations are expected to pay tribute by playing his songs. Kool 97 will be running a marathon of his music from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.

On Monday, two of London's best-known reggae radio disc jocks, Miss P from Radio London and Ernie from Choice FM, will be doing a live link-up from Kingston.

Since its inception, Brown's Foundation has concentrated on offering scholarships in his memory to students of his primary alma mater, Central Branch in West Kingston. So far 15 children have benefited from these scholarships.

"It is our intention to take them all the way through to their tertiary education," said Lincoln. He says that the scholarships were funded from the Foundation's own fund-raising efforts and not from Brown's estate.

In terms of Brown's estate, they have now completed sorting out the administration of his publishing, sources have confirmed. The next step was to sort out the complicated discography entangled in a web of producers.

Now the estate is looking at repackaging his material over the years to be released in box sets over the next few years. All of this is being done through agents in London, however.

"Our vision is to rebuild him into the icon he should really be. It will take time, but we are making progress," Lincoln added. At last count, Brown has approximately 100 albums, starting with No Man's An Island for legendary producer Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd back in 1970.

His hits include No Man Is An Island, Silhouette, Should I, Stop Your Fighting, Revolution, Cassandra, Westbound Train, Love Has Found Its Way, Money In My Pocket, Love's Gotta Hold On Me, Inseparable, Some Like It Hot, Love & Hate, How Could I Live and Wolves and Leopards.