| Cover Story |
sponsored by 
|
|
 |
March 24, 2007
Daddy Friday
REMEMBERING A LEGEND
By: kaya.lah
From Our Mar. - Apr. 2007 Issue
|
|
 |
In the 1970’s during the reign of “Kaiso” (or Calypso) giants such as Milo & the Kings and Tremile & the Jamals, a new band emerged on Virgin Islands music scene from Love City, St. John; named Eddie and the Movements (coincidentally the three leaders of the bands were brothers; Milo, Tremile, and Eddie Francis). Eddie and the Movements were unique in that they did not adhere to the popular socials constructs of the time; having members from all races and nationalities. This characteristic gave the band an edge with a special mix from the broad spectrum of musical flavors. From this group came the likes of popular radio personalities, Reginald “Ras Regg” Martin and his brother; owner of International Records & Tapes, Otis “Big-O” Martin. This was the stage and the actors in place, a change was coming and a new era was dawning.
On St. Thomas, in what was Nazareth Bay High School; now called Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, a band was formed called T&T Brass (which became the core group for the original Jam Band; Ray Francis, Robert Leonard, Henry Todman, Trevor George, Steve Tyrell). The front man for T&T was a young singer by the name of Nick Friday. At the time he was honing his skills by winning
Nazareth
’s Calypso competitions in previous years and clashing against their rival band from
Charlotte Amalie
High School
, the Dread-Ones. During his time in high school, Nick and his friends from T&T Brass would follow Eddie and the Movements learning, absorbing, and practicing with the big dogs. In 1980, after their graduation the group was officially merged with Eddie and the Movements, which fused the foundation and experience of the Movements and the youth and vibrancy of T&T Brass.
|
 |
Eddie Francis saw something special in this young singer; Nick Friday, who was dubbed “the Franchise” early in his career. He had a powerful voice, intelligent lyrics, and a commanding stage presence. He was extremely proficient in the old Kaiso-style competition known as “Extempo,” which is comparable to Hip-Hop’s MC Battles. Singers would freestyle against each other with the crowd being the judge. Many aspiring singers would be at the wrong end of a stinging lyric, and those who were observant of this poet could see the promise of a healthy career.
Nicholas Trevor Friday was born on the
island
of
Antigua
, the fifth child of Clement and Lillian Friday on December 28th, 1961. At the age of nine, his family moved to
St. Thomas
, where he attended Tutu Elementary School now Joseph Gomez Elementary, then attending and graduating from Nazareth Bay High. Growing up in the seventies his favorite off-island singers were Lord Kitchner, Trinidadian All-Time Road March King and King Short Shirt out of the Wadadli,
Antigua
. Locally, the people in the industry the Nick admired and emulated were the likes of Willis Pinney, Kenrick Augustus, Ras Regg, Cito Jarvis, among others.
After the merger of T&T Brass into Eddie and the Movements, in 1981 with Nick singing lead, the first Road March Title was won with the song ‘Backbone,’ off of the ‘Jam With We’ album arranged by Eddie Francis himself. The early eighties were the formative stages for the perfection of that unique ‘Jam Band Style’ which made eight more albums, and garnered the Movements six more Road March titles: ‘Tramping Style’ [Tramping Style,1984], ‘Pepper’ [Ammunition, 1985], ‘Lamboushay’ [Jam Band Style, 1986], ‘Legal’ [Legal, 1987], ‘Kool Um Down’ [Kool Um Down, 1988], and ‘We Run Things’ [We Run Things,1989]. In 1984 with the release of the ‘Tramping Style’ LP, Eddie Francis retired from the group allowing his son to be the new leader with Nick as co-leader, and the band was now known as Eddie and the Jam Band Movements. Though the band’s name was loosely interchangeable between Eddie and the Movements and Jam Band prior to 1990, the release of the album ‘Above and Beyond’ with the Road March immemorial ‘Horsechip,’ signified the final evolution of the group into the renowned, the Awesome Jam Band...
and Nicholas "The Franchise" into the legend known as Nick "Daddy" Friday.
|
|
|
