Q: Speaking about social comment and what essentially the Rastas brought to the music, how did you feel about that change at the time?

A: To me the Rasta music didn't really sort of face me to - it didn't sort of let me lose belief in the lyrical content of the music. What disappointed me was the deejay stuff, that part of the music disappointed me. To me it didn't do anything for me then and even now it doesn't do anything for me. The Rasta influence on reggae music to me was not taking away the lyrical content or the originality of it. It didn't to me lower the standard of reggae at all, I think it add to it.

Q: You left when that took hold in the music.

A: Well, with me, Peter, how I do it - I mean, I am confident and focused in whatever I'm doing, that is projective of what I want people to hear of me. I'm not influenced easily by other people, what they're doing I listen to it and if it appeals to me then I listen to it and, y'know, I'll be a part of it. But if it's not really adding to my growth in a spiritual way or psychologically or emotionally or is doing something, making other people feel good about listening to it, really my focus is on what I'm doing. 'Cause I try to be the best of what I am doing.

Q: As I tend to say, you just go along with what you knows best, simple as that.

A: Yeah. I have learned over a period of years is that you really have to be careful of what you've been influenced by, y'know what I mean.

Q: Not turning the coat from where the wind blows.

A: No, you're not turning to look at every thing that pass, you'll be selective in what you choose. Because what comes out of you, eventually reflect you and represents you. So you have to be selective in what you choose. 'Cause there's things that is detrimental for you and you have to let things pass, not because somebody else want you to do it doesn't necessarily mean that it's right for you or that it would be uplifting for you. So there comes a time when you have to let things pass.

Q: It's a question of credibility as well.

A: All the time.

Q: To maintain a career you have to stand firm in your beliefs and don't compromise too much, in doing so you can put your career to jeopardy.

A: No, no, no. Yeah. And also what it does as well is that it shows instability. To me a lot of those producers, I did a lot of them favours by doing a track for them. I didn't gain anything from it or I was hoping to gain anything from it, I did it as a favour to them. When I went to London I did it as a favour for those guys but I also did it as a favour for me not knowing because of the outcome of my life being in London. But often times I see producers coming up, I see producers and I say to myself well, I really couldn't lower myself to go and sing for people like those. I mean, that was my thought that because it's not that that person had very little integrity, they swear like a trooper, they have no honesty and all the other stuff that goes along with it. And when I do recordings for a lot of these guys, I did them a favour by doing a track for them, and say, y'know, here is a track, take it and see what you can do with it.

Q: You are presently compiling some vintage stuff that was recorded for others, and I would like to know how this works with getting the rights to put out material that was done for others originally. After a certain amount of years the rights to the recordings goes back to you, the writer?

A: Well, my understanding is that...

Q: You're using some Treasure Isle material for instance.

A: No, let's say I'm using some original tracks. I'm using some original tracks of the work that I have done. Well, let's say I'm compiling some original tracks that I had done. Because it is due, a lot of people out there is pressing records of me and they're pressing as it were substitute of the originals. So people are not getting the real true original music that was done then. So my focus really is to put together an original album of the tracks that was done in the sixties coming up to '73. That's how delicate I'd put it.

Q: (Chuckles) And you succeeded.

A: (Laughs) You see one of the things about it, Peter, is that one must be diplomatic when you're dealing with the wider public. Just in case it's misconcluded and come out different from how you want it to sound, you see (chuckles).

Q: Yep, that's right. So what is the content of this upcoming album to be more specific, there is no or will be overlapse with the Trojan compilation?

A: Well, I really don't...

Q: It doesn't matter anyhow.

A: Yeah. No, because you see here is how I'm looking at things: I'm still waiting after thirty years to collect some royalties from all those people who have put out my music and is still putting it out. And it's a long wait but I have patience, y'know what I mean (chuckles). I have patience and it amuses me sometimes that these people can continue year after year to benefit from something and they say OK, they can't contact me. I mean, as most people in London or lookin' on the internet, sooner or later you'll see my website coming up there. 'Cause I will be making this, putting up a website.

Q: Good.

A: So they won't be able to say well, they can't find me. And if they really want to find me they can find me 'cause I'm never hidden. Go into any of those big distributors and pick up a CD of me and they can find a number on a CD. Or whoever selling or distributing the CD I'm sure that they can get in touch with me sooner or later if they really want to. But I'm not as I said earlier on sort of holding my breath and waiting for them to call, as I have much more things to do in the meantime. But I will be compiling a very interesting album, some tracks that I have done in London in '73 and some in '78, that sort of time and I'll be compiling at least about twelve tracks on this album, and it's gonna be real interesting. When you hear these what I'm gonna be bringing out, it's gonna be one of all the stuff that I have already put out, or have been put out by me or by others from me.

Q: Sounds like good news to me.

A: Yep, yep. It's coming up to the time when it's more than due for me to start reaping some benefits and the journey has been long and it has been a learning journey. I have been enriched by that journey, the journey of life. And all the things that I encountered, the people that I encountered, have enriched me whether in a good way or a bad way, they have made me be more aware of life and people and things. So I have learned and I'm thankful for the journey that I have walked. And I'm not in any way bitter or worsened by it, I'm enriched by it. So I'm grateful to them for the encounters that I had with the people that I have encountered. As I said first and foremost we're spiritual beings and there's a lot of things we can achieve on a spiritual level that often times isn't possible on a physical level, but first you achieve the things spiritually then you achieve it physically. I mean, this might sound too much for me what I'm saying here but I mean... too much relaying it to you, but as I said we can achieve a lot of things wherever you are at. For instance, if I want to achieve something in London, you can stay right where you are here in Florida and achieve the result in London and not being there, pending on you see how it goes back to how you think is how you live. But in all things you must be honest in everything that you do so that you're clear in everything that you do.

Q: By the way, who is responsible for Duke Reid's material now, it's still belonging to Sonia Pottinger, isn't it?

A: No, it's not. It was leased to her for a period of time, and she didn't hand it over back to Duke's wife. And a friend of mine here have the paperwork to show that it was so.

Q: But didn't even Coxson get the rights to some of the Treasure Isle stuff as well?

A: Coxson doesn't own it either because she didn't have the right to sell Coxson anything.

Q: But there was some of Lee Perry's Upsetter catalog and some of Duke's that he pressed up anyhow.

A: Well, I don't know about Lee Perry's one but for Duke material Mrs Pottinger didn't have the right and don't have the right to sell the music to Dodd. Hey, you know there's a guy here, right, that I must put you on to him. He has some real deep inside story of the Pottinger and the Duke stuff, you could write a book about that (chuckles).

Q: So how does this work now, technically, the old material from back in the sixties and so on, how does it...

A: Revert back to me?

Q: Yes.

A: I don't know, as far as I get to understand after thirty years it revert back to me. But I'm going to be talking to somebody who said he'll be able... I mean I'm gonna talk to Hopeton (Lewis) because he said he have some direct knowledge as to people he is with, that all music that he has done after a given period of time it revert back to the artists. And also the thing about it as well is that anybody who really have the rights to those music that I have done... would be me! Specially for you, and the other guys that didn't pay me would have to come up and start counting up.

Q: It's a shame that, probably, most of the vets in the music just aren't aware of the fact that the music reverts back after a period of time.

A: Well yeah, they probably can't be bothered anyway. You know, they reach a point where they probably figure well, y'know, they don't bother about it. You know they just make it right, y'know what I mean. Yeah, they just make it right, they don't sort of let it be what you'd call a pillow on the back, they just let it pass. And I think really that some probably don't have it all to pursuit or have any concept as to what they really could do to get some recompense. And you have some people in the business that when you're dealing with them they're so frustrating that it's like waste of good energy, it's like trying to get blood from stones. So sometime they probably would look on the amount of effort they would have to put into trying to get something from these guys, is like waste of good energy.

Q: Old wounds, ripping them open again.

A: Yeah! First thing it's 'Bwoy yunno Jackson, you never make no money anyhow', y'know (laughs).

Q: Right (laughs)!

A: Cho, why bother, y'know what I mean? You gotta do what you can do for the time that you have here. You know, beating a dead horse. These guys will never change, they were always that way. You're just wasting good energy. Just make it run, really. Just live and forget it and leave things to the Master because He makes and controls the life, the air we breathe and He controls the whole span of time that we have here. So why let these guys wear you out? There's so much that... forget it.

Q: Tell me some about your previous collection, 'Glint of Gold'?

A: Really, the 'Glint of Gold' album have... it's a compilation really that has quite a lot of the old stuff, it has the 'Jimmy Brown'. But it really wasn't sort of pristine level that I would've wanted them to be, but I did the best that I could. It has the 'True True True', 'My Whole World Is Falling Down', 'Chokin' Kind', 'Help Me Make It Through The Night', 'Heartbreak Woman'. And 'Heartbreak Woman' was this song that I did on the Dove label, for this guy over in Clapton (Roy Cousins). Then it's 'I Should Have Known', 'Sad Mood' - Bunny Lee had produced that, 'Say Wonderful Things' - Byron Lee had produced that, 'I Can't Hide', 'Mother's Eye', 'I Won't Cry', this is what's on the 'Glint of Gold'. As a matter of fact, people keep asking me to press some more of this album. But you know, you don't go out and press a record until the demand is strong, every step of the way costs money.

Q: Did you notice something about your records that we didn't penetrate during the course of this interview?

A: No, what (chuckles)?

Q: The recent Trojan compilation.

A: (Laughs)

Q: This was more or less intentional. From what I've gathered there has been some correct information being said about this whole ugly affair where there has been 'threats' for those who utters the truth of the matter, one author you know for example.

A: They threatened him?

Q: Yeah, you could say that.

A: Isn't that interesting?

Q: I see it more from the 'ugly' side I'd say. It's nothing else really.

A: Because as I said to you earlier on about being the type of person that I am, I have seen them and the type of people they are. And the type of people they are did not surprise me from my experience with them, you see what I mean. But for the record, I haven't received any money from Trojan, Sanctuary, anyone of them, since about the past thirty years. And it would be nice to... you know? But as I said I'm not holding my breath. And I'm not even looking, I'm just stating the facts as they are.

Q: It makes it even more disgraceful - if not downright disgusting - to see how you were contacted and involved from an early stage for information in one way or the other, and then being totally ripped off when the project was released, it makes it even worse. Especially when this was a good package for the most part, a job done well regarding selection, design and so forth. It stinks.

A: Oh definitely, naturally. And I had even sent them a photograph, a photograph that was taken somewhere about 1970, that sort of time. So they had a photograph of me from then, so it's not that they could say well, they didn't have any contact with me, as to how to contact me.

Q: Do you have the album?

A: No, I don't have the album.

Q: They didn't even send you a copy?!

A: Oh no. They think I'm no longer on this side of the boat.

Q: It's terrible.

A: It is. They didn't even pay me the compliment of sending me a copy of the record. But I'm not holding my breath or am I griping. I'm just stating facts how it is. But it's disappointing, y'know what I mean, for a reputable company not to act in an honest and a forthright manner compensating for work that they are prospering from or exploiting it, to me it's disappointing to say the least.

Q: Very.

A: I wonder if the managing director or whoever those people are would be aware of how the companies treat the people that they're exploiting the music from? Well, the journey continues, y'know what I mean.

The journey will indeed continue. And Ken is not doing worse, even though things could be better regarding musical affairs by some that seems to specialize in sucking people dry of what they had or have, then dump them and go on to someone else which will be treated just as bad. It would be nice to know if some moral can be involved somewhere. But most of us know and feel that this will not change today nor tomorrow, not next year, or the coming years. But, perhaps, with someone like the French lawyer Andre Bertrand doing some good on his side to get money back to these artists, there will be a slight change for the better. Hopefully, but not likely. I would encourage you all to check Ken's 'Glint of Gold' anthology, it is for the most part just as good as what you can 'find elsewhere' and worth your investment if you are new to his music. There is several gospel records he cut while living in England, such as 'Jesus On The Mainline' and 'I Shall Not Be Moved' that is worth investigating, and the upcoming compilation talked about within this space to watch for. If only the Dodd headquarters could reissue the long unavailable 'Keep Your Eyes On Jesus' LP and make sure that our artist gets his share, which he is more than due, then we could all be as happy as happy can be. But will it happen? Only the higher powers know. I would suggest you use the internet to check Ken on the air too. He is host to the popular 'Brother Ken Parker's Gospel Hour' and 'The Heartbeat Of The Caribbean' shows on WAVS-AM 1170 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His records can be obtained by emailing: crampak@aol.com. 7" single information courtesy Roots Knotty Roots.