by Francis Quamina Farrier

Has Guyana already forgotten Tom Charles and the Syncopators? REALLY! It’s one thing to be advanced in age and to forget some things of the past, including some of the things which gave so many of us so much joy, and improved our quality of life in our small third world country.

Then, as you would appreciate, there is a growing number of Guyanese who have never even heard the name Tom Charles, or Harry Whittaker, for that matter. So, let’s begin at the very beginning – a very good place to start.

Thomas Benjamin Charles, a native of Victoria Village on the East Coast Demerara, was one of Guyana’s great drummers. He was also the founder of one of the most popular Musical Bands in the history of British Guiana/Guyana.

The Band was known as Tom Charles and the Syncopators and I feel obliged to throw the spotlight on that great Guyanese and that great Band, during this Jubilee Year. There needs to be more all-round knowledge of our Guyanese history. And during this Jubilee Year, there must be a greater effort in this area. There are some among us who are trying to rewrite Guyanese history, and so the FACTS must be made known.

An example is the National Drama Festivals. There is someone who keeps stating openly that the National Drama Festivals began just a few years ago, when in FACT National Drama Festivals started way back in the early 1960s. There is a report in the (now defunct) Sunday Graphic of November 14, 1965. Along with it, is a photo of the players of the Buxton Group with their play “The Promised land”, which won First Prize in the Junior Section of the Festival. I won the BEST ACTOR prize that year. A youthful Derek Walcott was the Adjudicator.

The reign of “Tom Charles and the Syncopators” was from around the late 1940s and on into the 1970s. Its demise came when the Police placed a midnight ban on parties in Guyana, resulting in almost zero work for the Band.

Tom Charles then migrated to the United States where he died many years later. It was Guyana’s loss. Some years ago, I had the privilege and honour to do an on-camera interview with Tom Charles while he was in exile, at his Washington, DC, home. It was about a year before his passing. At the end of that interview, with tears in his eyes, Tom presented me with a few photographs of the Band over the years. He wrote the information of the scenes at the back of each photograph, with his own hand. I treasure those photographs, a few which now accompany this article.

“Tom Charles and the Syncopators” was a household name, not only here in Guyana, but across the Caribbean, for about three decades. The Band played at a variety of venues, including Boat Excursions in the Demerara and Essequibo rivers, which used to be very popular in the period of the 1950s to 1970s. Tom Charles and the Syncopators also toured many of the Caribbean Islands, including the Dutch and French Islands. The Band also toured to the United States. In 1981, Tom addressed the audience at a show at which the well-known Guyanese Chronicle Atlantic Symphony Steel Orchestra performed at the African Museum of Arts, in Washington, DC.

Tom told me that as he walked in during the performance, he was recognized by the many Guyanese members of the audience, who requested that the Steel Orchestra play the Guyana Boom. “The Orchestra did a fine rendition not only with the Boom but in general”, Tom stated. He was so proud of what he had accomplished in finding a musical sound for Guyana. There are still recordings of his compositions.

The achievements of this great Guyanese Musician and Band Leader included many recordings and awards. His works were recorded on Recording Labels such as Ace, Gems, Decca, Parlaphone and Cook. His compositions included Sugar Plumb, Can Can Girl, Creole Licks, Strong Man Cuffy, Happy Day Boom, and Guyana Boom. Sadly, none of those recordings are played on the Local Radio Stations in our Independent Guyana. What a shame!

The BOOM was the special sound which Tom Charles worked on during the years just before Independence to give his Band a unique Guyana sound. He worked tirelessly to give Guyana a musical identity. Unfortunately, his efforts did not attain full success, since there was no special dance moves to go along with the Boom, and so, unlike Jamaica with the Reggae, Guyana has no such indigenous musical sound.

Tom’s early involvement with music was during his pre-teen years in his native Victoria village, when he was trained in music and was playing the violin. However, he preferred the drums, and excelled with it, becoming one of Guyana’s best drummers along with Art Broomes, who was another genius Guyanese drummer. It was in the 1940s that Tom Charles founded his band “Tom Charles and the Syncopators”. As it slowly gained popularity with the people, there was one particular incident which caused it to shoot up dramatically to become, arguably, Guyana’s greatest Big Band.

There was another Big Band at that time – The Washboards Orchestra – which was headed by Al Seales, another great Guyanese musician. Joseph Rodney, who was a popular Dance Promoter of that era, decided to book both the Syncopators and the Washboards for the same dance. Rodney promoted that event as “The Clash of the Big Bands.” Fans turned up in great numbers to that dance, resulting in a highly successful event which was the talk of the town for a long time, and both bands gained greater popularity across the Nation and beyond.

From the start, Tom Charles and the Syncopators attracted a strong fan following. For a long period, they played live on the Radio every Wednesday night. That was long before television came to Guyana. They also made many stage appearances and was contracted to play at many important dances and other events.

Founding members of the Band were Harry Whittaker (clarinet), Ferdinand Eversley (tenor saxophone), Edgar Davidson (Lead Trumpet), Basil Harris (Base), Byron Hunte (Piano), and of course, band leader Tom Charles (Drums).

Over the years, vocalists with the band included Ulric Gouveia, Annie Haynes, Ina Vyphuis, and Monica Chopperfield (Lady Guymine). Those vocalists were all stars in their own right, and sang a wide range of local and international compositions. That was the era of great live entertainment in British Guiana.

Even though the colony was ruled by an overseas political power, Great Britain, located thousands of miles away, many Guyanese with creative talents worked for the development of our own Guyanese Culture, in the entertainment field in particular. That passion for the development of Guyanese culture intensified as independence grew closer.

During his exile years in the United States, Tom Charles played the drums for New Amsterdam native, Stella Clarke, and her Dancing Dolls group which was located in Washington, D.C. He was active almost to the very end. Guyana was so much the richer for having Tom Charles and the Syncopators playing the kind of music which the people just loved, and it would be a shame if his name becomes totally unknown by the present and future generations of Guyanese, especially those involved with music. One sure way to ensure that this does not happen is for the radio stations to play the music of Tom Charles and the Syncopators. And that really, should not be difficult.