CONDUCTED BY MOHAIR SLIM 12/05/2000 KINGSTON, JAMAICA
MOHAIR SLIM: WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA TO DEVELOP THE WORD FORMS AND THE RHYMES AND ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS?
KING STITT: WELL IN THE EARLY DAYS WOULD BUY LIKE LIVE JIVE BOOK. WOULD STUDY THE LIVE JIVES FROM IT AND THEN I WOULD GO TO DANCES TO PLAY NOW AND THE RECORD IS PLAYING. WHEN YOU CATCH A CHORUS WOULD PUT IN SOME OF THOSE LIVE JIVE LIKE WE STUDIED FROM THE BOOKS INTO IT THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD GO WITH IT.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHERE DID THIS BOOK COME FROM?
KING STITT: NO, IT’S A LOCAL BOOK THAT WAS PRINTED CALLED ‘LIVE JIVE’
MOHAIR SLIM: ITS JAMAICAN. IT WASN’T AMERICAN?
KING STITT: NO.
MOHAIR SLIM: HAD ANYONE DONE IT BEFORE YOU?
KING STITT: YES. WELL FIRST DJ LOCALLY WAS THE LATE GREAT COUNT MATCHUKI. HE’S NOW DECEASED.
MOHAIR SLIM: THE OTHER DJS FROM THE EARLY DAYS ROY WHITE AND COXSONE
KING STITT: NO THOSE WERE NOT DJS. THOSE WERE SOUND SYSTEM OWNERS. THOSE WERE NOT DJS. THOSE WERE OWNERS.
MOHAIR SLIM: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING A SOUND SYSTEM SELECTER AND A DJ?
KING STITT: YEAH. WELL THE SAME SOUND SELECTER CAN BE A DJ TOO YOU KNOW? BECAUSE I WAS SELECTER AND DJ. BUT IS ONLY NOWADAYS NOW DIFFERENT THING. NOW YOU HAVE NINETEEN SELECTERS AND TWENTY-FIVE DJS YOU KNOW? (LAUGHS).
MOHAIR SLIM: FOR A LONG TIME YOU WERE ALIGNED WITH COXSONE DODD. DID YOU DO ANY WORK FOR THE OTHER SIDE? DUKE REID OR BUSTER?
KING STITT: NO DIDN’T DO ANY RECORDINGS FOR DUKE REID NOR PRINCE BUSTER. BUT I STARTED RECORDING FIRST FOR CLANCY ECCLES.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHEN HE DID A GIG YOU WOULD DO THE DJING BEFORE OR AFTER?
KING STITT: I WAS DOING DJ BEFORE I STARTED RECORDING FOR CLANCY. STARTED RECORDING FOR CLANCY IN ‘69. I WAS DJING LONG BEFORE THAT.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHEN DID YOU START OUT?
KING STITT: 1956. I WAS SIXTEEN.
MOHAIR SLIM: WAS IT YOUR OWN SYSTEM?
KING STITT: NO NO. COXSONE.
MOHAIR SLIM: SO COXSONE GAVE YOU YOUR START?
KING STITT: YEAH.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHAT SORT OF MUSIC WERE YOU PLAYING AT THAT TIME?
KING STITT: AMERICAN RHYTHM AND BLUES. THEN STARTED RHYTHM AND BLUES BEGINE TO GET SCARCE. THEN THEY DECIDED THAT CAUSE THE ROCK’N’ROLL WAS JUST COMING. AND THEN NOW THE JAMAICAN PEOPLE NEVER DIG THE ROCK’N’ROLL THAT MUCH. SO THE SOUND SYSTEM OWNERS NOW DECIDED TO CREATE SOMETHING THE NEAREST THING TO THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN RHYTHM AND BLUES. SO THEY STARTED A SHUFFLE BEAT. SO YOU KNOW THE EARLIER TUNES GOT A SHUFFLE BEAT. THEN OUT OF THE SHUFFLE BEAT NOW THEN THEY GOT THE SKA. Y’UNDERSTAND?
MOHAIR SLIM: WHAT WERE SOME OF THE AMERICAN ARTISTS THAT YOU TRIED TO EMULATE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS?
KING STITT: ARTISTS LIKE ROSCO GORDON, WYNONIE HARRIS, FATS DOMINO, LOUIS JORDAN ALL THOSE EARLY ARTISTS.
MOHAIR SLIM: HOW IN YOUR OWN WORDS DID THE SKA DEVELOP OUT OF THAT SHUFFLE?
KING STITT: WELL, THE SHUFFLE BEAT DIRECTLY BEGIN TO CHANGE IN EARLY ‘61 GOING ‘62. Y’UNDERSTAND?
MOHAIR SLIM: WAS IT A NATURAL THING? SOME PEOPLE WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE THAT COXSONE JUST DECIDED LET’S JUST DO THIS OFF-BEAT THING OR WAS IT A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT DO YOU THINK?
KING STITT: WELL, HE TRIED IT. WHAT HE DID, CERTAIN ORIGINAL AMERICAN TUNE WHAT HE WOULD DO IS LET THE MUSICIAN WRITE THE BARS AND THEY WOULD PLAY LIKE THE TOP PART FOR THE FIRST FOUR OR EIGHT BARS THEN THEY WOULD CHANGE IT. BUT, NOW THE SKA. WHAT THEY DID NOW, WHEN THE MUSIC STARTED WITH A SHUFFLE BEAT NOW. SO WHEN THEY WANTED TO CHANGE IT NOW, HE WOULD INSTRUCT THE MUSICIAN TO STRESS ON THE SKA-SKA-SKA. THE GUITAR PLAYED THE SKA.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHEN DID YOU FIRST ACTUALLY APPEAR ON A RECORD?
KING STITT: 1969.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHAT RECORD WAS THAT?
KING STITT: FIRE CORNER. CLANCY ECCLES.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHEN WAS ROCKFORT ROCK RECORDED?
KING STITT: ROCKFORT ROCK WAS RECORDED IN ‘66, ‘67.
MOHAIR SLIM: DID YOU APPEAR ON THAT?
KING STITT: NO.
MOHAIR SLIM: DID YOU FIND THAT WORK INCREASED FOR DJS OVER THE PERIOD OR WAS THERE ALWAYS WORK OUT THERE?
KING STITT: THERE WAS ALWAYS WORK, BUT, YOU SEE. WHAT HAPPENED NOW, WHAT HAPPENED NOWADAYS NOW. YOU SEE MOST OF THE PRODUCERS DON’T CONSIDER NOW WHAT THEY’RE RECORDING. THEY DO THIS THING NOW SO QUICK THING. SO IF A GUY JUST GO IN A STUDIO AND CURSE TWO BAD WORDS ON A RHYTHM ITS ALL VERY WELL AND GOOD. THEY ARE LOOKING A FOOL BUT I DON’T DO IT THAT WAY. I DON’T RECORD SLACKNESS.
MOHAIR SLIM: WHICH SESSION DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST OF ALL THE ARTISTS YOU WORKED WITH?
KING STITT: WHY THERE’S MANY SESSIONS. LAUGHS. THERE WAS ALWAYS GOOD SUPPORT Y’UNDERSTAND. WHAT I WOULD SAY NOW MAJORITY OF ALL SESSIONS THAT I WORKED ON WITH ARTISTS I GOT GOOD SUPPORT.
