2 Another Side of Jamaica

CHAPTER 2 Another Side of Jamaica When Cedella and Bob arrived in Kingston in 1957, the roads of their Trench Town neighborhood were filled with garbage and stray dogs. There was no sewage system, so people went to the bathroom outside in holes dug in the dirt. People pumped water for drinking, cooking, and bathing from an outdoor well. The children in the neighborhood knew Bob was from a country village. He also didn't look like the other kids in Trench Town. He had lighter skin because his father was white. He was always teased because he was

mixed race: both black and white. Bob had to learn how to defend himself against other boys. Bob quickly learned how to fight. The neighborhood boys thought he knew some pretty quick martial-arts moves. He didn't, but he still earned the nickname "Tuff Gong": Tuff because he seemed so tough, and Gong because the kids were reminded of the loud instrument from kung-fu movies when they saw Bob fight. Bob's physical skill became known around Trench Town.

Bob wouldn't have had to fight so much if he had been going to school. But in Jamaica, only elementary school was free. After that, you had to pay to attend. Cedella didn't have the money to send Bob right away. While she was working hard to save up, Bob missed a year of school. He spent his days working any job he could to help his mother pay for food and rent. Cedella and Toddy were still spending much of their time together. Eventually, Bob and Cedella moved into the Livingstons' house on Second Street. Bob was glad that he would now be living with his friend Bunny.

Bob and Bunny listened to music on the radio all the time. American singers and musicians like Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles became Bob's heroes. Bob and Bunny tried to copy the biggest radio hits on their guitars. Bob and Bunny began writing their first songs together. Bob combined his favorite calypso beats with the American music he heard on Kingston radio. They played them in the Second Street public yard, and people liked them. In 1959, when Bob was about fourteen, Cedella had finally saved enough money to send him to school. She had worked long hours to pay for his clothes and books. Bob's new teachers said he was thoughtful and smart. But Bob's time there wouldn't last long. The school closed a short time later, and Bob began looking for a new job instead of a new school.

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Desmond Dekker, a friend Bob had met playing music in the yards, worked at a Kingston welding business. Bob soon got a job there as well. He did not like the work. But he got to spend time with Desmond, who was a talented singer. Desmond and Bob both listened to ska music. Ska is Jamaican music that has a regular rhythm like calypso but usually adds the sound of horns like trumpets, saxophones, and trombones. People could really dance to it. There were plenty of ska songs on the radio at the