Biography
Double bass player Cluett Johnson, born in Jamaica, left his deepest mark on music through an unintended moment. Starting in 1959 he headed the Blues Blasters, the first ensemble to cut records on the island; the group featured Ernest Ranglin, Rico Rodriguez, Roland Alphonso, Theophilus Beckford and drummer Arkland ‘Drumbago’ Parks. Early sides such as ‘Shuffling Jug’ (1959) blended calypso and R&B flavors and received exposure via producer Coxsone Dodd’s Downbeat sound system, which operated throughout Kingston and its surroundings. Dodd capitalized on the resulting interest by issuing the band’s material on his Worldisc imprint. During a studio rehearsal Johnson reportedly told Ranglin to “Play it like ska, ska,” an offhand remark that supplied the name for the island’s dominant style between 1962 and 1966. By then the Blues Blasters had transformed into the Skatalites, and Johnson himself had faded from sight.