‘My mother waited 100 years for this’

The official announcement that veteran guitarist Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith was being conferred with the Order of Distinction for his contribution to the music industry came on his birthday, August 6. Smith told The Gleaner that he couldn’t have asked for a better present, especially since his mother is alive and he will be dedicating it to her.

“My mother wait 100 years for this to happen … yeah man,” said Smith, who is also known as Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest. “My mother Maud Thompson, we call her Mama Maud, she is 100.”

He added, “It feel good. I was informed before, but Independence Day … my birthday … was the official day when everybody hear ‘bout it. Yes, it’s a great gift on a special day,” said Smith, who is most well known for his work with the Soul Syndicate band and as guitarist for Bob Marley and The Wailers.

The Gleaner spoke briefly with an elated Mama Maud, who resides in Florida.

“I feel so proud of my son … very, very proud. I will not be in Jamaica, but I will be watching him collect it on the television. This is wonderful,” Mama Maud said.

She told The Gleaner that she is “100 years and four months old” and gave her birth date as April 16, 1926. “I had to live till I am 100 to see this.”

Smith’s daughter, Neo Sulann Smith, spoke on behalf of all her siblings – “all nine of us” – when she expressed pride in her father’s achievements.

“I keep hearing the word ‘proud’, but it is appropriate. When I saw that [the late] Stranger Cole is being honoured as well, I am just so glad that my dad got to collect his flowers himself. I am super proud of my daddy … I’m walking with a really high chest,” she said with a laugh.

Smith, who has recorded with numerous reggae artistes over the decades, has appeared on more than 500 albums. He currently leads the Binghistra Movement, a collection of musicians which blends traditional Nyabinghi drumming with orchestral and roots reggae elements.

Happy as he is to be conferred with the Order of Distinction, Smith lamented the fact that there are other musicians and singers who are just as deserving of similar honour, but whose contributions have been ignored by successive governments.

“Me a collect the award fi all a dem man deh,” Smith said. “Man like Lynn Tait … mi nuh know if a true him a Trinidadian why him nuh get no recognition. And yuh have Bo Peep, Noel Bailey, Earl Frater, Reggie from the Upsetters band. I come in this music and hear some of dem man deh.”

On Heroes’ Day, Smith will put on his Sunday best and collect his award in front of family and friends.

“I give thanks. I really give thanks, and I have to respect those who made this possible,” Smith said.

Nine members of the entertainment fraternity will be honoured at King’s House in October. The other recipients of the Order of Distinction are Stranger Cole; Robert Livingston; Michael ‘Mikie’ Bennett; and Clifford ‘Mr Vegas’ Smith.

Recipients of the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service are Shirley Deloris Findley-Willis for her contribution to gospel music in Jamaica; Herman Constantine ‘Bongo’ Davis for his contribution to Jamaican music and culture; Lawrence Anthony ‘Dundas’ McDonald for service to the field of entertainment; and Carlyle Palmer for his contribution to the growth of Jamaican music in the United Kingdom through Jet Star Music.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com