Essay On The Steelband Movement

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According to Kim Johnson, by VJ Day when the Japanese army surrendered on the August 15, 1945, steelbandsmen were ready and not only in the capital city but also throughout the urban centers of the Colony, steelbands ruled the road. The celebrations started the night of Tuesday August 14 1945, and continued until the wee hours of Friday morning. On Wednesday trucks were adorned with Chinese slogans and posters of Chiang Kai Shek formed a procession that drove to the Chinese consulate. The Carnival of 1947 steelbands was still considered a nuisance says Kim Johnson. But the steelbands boldly strutted and paraded the streets and becoming into its own. Bands were now playing melodies and harmonies and were escorted by masqueraders; this continued right up to the advent of the seventies when the steelband lost its place as the king of Carnival. This era of in the history of the steelband movement saw this art form under attack from within and without. The steelband riots started with clashes between bands on the road and carried on after Carnival with dangerous, violent outbreaks, mainly at the various entertainment spots, where thousands of US military service men were stationed at the various bases in the colony. While the steelband battles continued to rage …show more content…

The association’s president was Sydney Gollop. Some of its other members included Port of Spain solicitor Lennox Pierre, Carlyle Kerr, union leader Nathaniel Crichlow, and Oscar Pile, all outstanding activists of the steelband movement. Lieutenant Nathaniel Joseph Griffith, born in Barbados and who had been playing with the Trinidad Police Band and was a qualified musician, was co-opted and consented to teach music, a move that certainly contributed to the high number of bands that joined the

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