Ernie Smith hailed as pioneer and master storyteller

Following the passing of beloved singer, songwriter, and storyteller Ernie Smith last Thursday in Florida, his friends, business associates, and fans have been sharing the stories of how great a musician and a human being the Ride on Sammy legend truly was.

Clare Ram of Jack Russell Publishing, based in the United Kingdom, told The Sunday Gleaner that although she met Ernie Smith just over a year ago, “his music had been a part of [her] life long before that” as she became a devoted fan upon hearing songs such as Tears on my Pillow and Life is Just for Living.

“In conversation, Ernie was wonderfully modest, sharing the story of Tears on my Pillow and how he had originally titled it I Can’t Take it. Working alongside him, Joanna, [his manager], Claudette, [his wife], and Peter was an absolute pleasure. During our chats, you could see the joy in his eyes. It was clear that his music came from a place of pure heart. He was a man whose kindness shone as brightly as his talent,” Ram shared.

She continued: “My heart goes out to his nearest and dearest at this sad time. Though our time together was brief, the privilege of knowing him and experiencing his music up close is a gift I will always treasure.”

Veteran tour-artiste manager and author Copeland Forbes, who knew Ernie Smith for more than six decades, spoke candidly with The Sunday Gleaner. In the ‘60s, Forbes had a dance group, the Coasters, which travelled and performed with the Mighty Vikings band, for which Smith was the vocalist and a guitarist. The band also comprised brothers Sonny and Victor Wong, Derrick Harriott, and Wallace Wilson (the father of singer Red Rat).

“The Mighty Vikings was one of the top bands, like Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and they played at the Sombrero Club and the Flamingo Hotel... all over the place and even toured the US,” Forbes recalled fondly. “Ernie was very instrumental in coaching us and even teaching me some chords on the guitar, but I wasn’t interested in it because my finger was burning me, so I concentrated on singing and dancing.”

Forbes recounted an incident that has continued to impress him after all these decades. It had to do with a performance by the popular R&B group The Drifters at the Regal Theatre in Cross Roads in the ‘60s. As Forbes recalled, The Drifters arrived in Jamaica the same evening of the show because they had a work permit problem, and they went straight from the airport to Regal. They were being backed by the Mighty Vikings band, and there was no rehearsal.

“Their musical director just dropped the music sheets and give everybody. And Ernie just looked at it ... him and Wallace Wilson. And Ernie just look at the music sheet dem and seh ... boom, boom, boom, and tell everybody ‘B flat into E minor to C sharp,’ just like that. A lot of our musicians play by ear, but Ernie could read music ... sharp and quick, so he was a really great inspiration to that band,” said Forbes, who has seen and done it all.

Another fond memory was when Ernie Smith entered and won the prestigious Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, in 1972, with the song Life is Just for Living. Originally written for a Red Stripe beer commercial, this victory was historic as Ernie Smith, the singer with the deep baritone and a penchant for telling stories through his music, became the first Jamaican musician to win an international music award. Forbes hailed this as a great moment for both the music fraternity and Brand Jamaica in the ‘70s.

Challenging period

He also shared that Smith, a proud graduate of York Castle High School in St Ann, headlined a concert at the famous Madison Square Garden in the early days, but this time, there was a twist.

“Big Youth, Inner Circle, the Chosen Few, and Alton Ellis were also there. And even though Ernie was the headliner ... bwoy, Big Youth stole the show from him. It was a two-night event, and the second night they put Big Youth as the headliner,” Forbes recalled with a laugh.

He remembered the challenging period when Ernie Smith was “kind of forced to leave Jamaica for Canada” after his song with a rather long but powerful title, As We Fight One Another Fe De Power and De Glory Jah Kingdom Goes to Waste. A strident commentary on internal conflict causing societal or spiritual destruction, it was banned in Jamaica owing in part to the discomfort it brought to the realm of politics in the charged election year, 1976, when it was released. Smith told The Gleaner in a 2017 interview that he “was never personally threatened because of the song, although someone advised him to leave the country.

“Ernie left Canada and went to the US ... he was a permanent resident. He had a one-man band that was performing down at Bayside on weekends, and a lot of people used to go down there. When he met Janet [his late wife], and they got married, he moved back to Jamaica and turned in his green card. Him and Janet seemed very happy. They were even living in St Ann for a while,” Forbes shared

He said that when Janet got sick, she called him and said she didn’t think she was going to make it, so she wanted to leave Ernie in good hands and asked Forbes to take over the management. He couldn’t take it up at the time, but he promised to assist in getting him some bookings.

“I know he has been ailing for a while. I saw him just before I came to Jamaica for Cat Coore’s funeral in February. It was at Inner Circle’s studio in Florida. I presented him with a copy of my book, and that was the last time I saw him. He didn’t look well. His wife, Claudette, told me that he had so many different problems, but he was a fighter. Ernie is a close friend, and he is sadly missed,” Forbes declared.

In a social media post on Friday, Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding paid tribute to the “music legend”.

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Ernie Smith, a Jamaican music legend. Ernie’s immense talent as a songwriter delivered sweet melodies and profound lyrics, which combined with the rich smoothness of a truly great baritone voice to generate timeless hits that have become part of the soundtrack of our national journey. Popular favourites like Duppy Gunman, Life is Just for Living, and Pitta Patta are classics that have enriched our popular culture and will last through the ages. My condolences to his family, friends, musical family, and to everyone who grew up with his music. Jamaica has lost an irreplaceable treasure,” Golding said.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, stated that “Ernie Smith with the booming voice and cleverly crafted lyrics was a favourite at home and abroad”.

“Ernie was my friend for years, and I even assisted him at one point with his career. We know that he had thoughts of being a radio announcer, but music got hold of him, and the legacy he leaves confirms that he made the right choice between the radio studio and the recording studio. Though silenced, his special voice will resound in our hearts and memory forever,” Grange said.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com