Biography
During the early 1960s in Jamaica, Keith Stewart and Enid Cumberland cut tracks together as a duo. A handful of their 1961 releases reached listeners as hits, among them ‘Only A Pity’, ‘Never Leave Me Throne’ and ‘What Have I Done’. Two years later the pair laid down ‘Lost My Love’ under D Darling’s production—an early instance of the emerging ska rhythm. Several of those singles later appeared in Britain, though distribution stayed largely within the local Jamaican audience. By the middle of the decade Cumberland had teamed with a fresh partner, Roy Richards, for the single ‘He’ll Have To Go’. When the record surfaced in the UK on the Coxsone label, its flipside carried the enduring ska staple ‘Love Me Forever’ by Carlton And His Shoes. At Studio One she also tracked the brisk ‘Rocking Time’ alongside Richards and producer Coxsone Dodd. Stewart and Cumberland eventually slipped from view, whereas Richards continued to perform for visitors, playing harmonica at a Kingston hotel.