Elton “Chain Smoke” John -The King Has Left Us!

 Sunrise:  June 13, 1938

Sunset:  June 23, 2011

The King is the name by which we affectionately greeted each other, be it on the telephone or in the flesh.  We first met in 1970 when I moved to Toronto fromKingston and spent a few months with Impacts Steelband led by Earl La Pierre Sr.  But it was at the Harriet Tubman Centre (St.Clair, Oakwood) in 1975 that we developed our friendship.  Under the stewardship ofKen Jeffers, the Tubman Centre had become the focal point forCaribbean youth cultural activities, especially pan and dance, and was the home of the Tubman Survivors Steelband.  I was the pan instructor.

Subsequent to his arrival inCanadaas a bass player with the National Steelband of Trinidad & Tobago at Expo ’67, Smokey eventually became the consummate Canadian pan pioneer who was able to play, tune, teach and complete arrangements for the pan.  His pride and joy was the MississaugaAcademy of Steelband Music.  He made sure that he acquired his instruments from the best tuners; he worked diligently to pass on to the youth his skills and experience as a player; he augmented his music knowledge by seeking the support of top arrangers like Lincoln “Fats” Waldrons – all in order to offer his young panists the best that he could.

Smokey was a proud, patriotic, passionate “panman” whose dedication and commitment to his instrument of choice, the bass, sometimes led to excesses of expression in his personal interaction with others.  I recall one summer when I was doing an arrangement with his band, one young man was fooling around and Smokey used some rather colorful language to get his attention.  My reaction was “Smokey, yuh cyar talk to de boy like dat”.  His response, “who say so?Ah tired talkin’ to him”.

He knew that was very insightful, and would frequently preface his ideas with “I know that I am not as educated as some of you”. All this to say, tongue in cheek, that: “I may not have had the best formal education, but I have been so well educated in the school of life that I can hold my own in any discussion with anyone”.  And he did!

I shall miss our lengthy telephone discussions in which we knocked heads a bit from time to time, but always ended up wishing each well.  I hope that his young panists choose to continue Mississauga Academy of Steelband Music that had become his “raison d’etre” in the final years of his life.  The Ontario SteelpanAssociation stands committed to provide whatever assistance we can in order sustain their program.

To me, he will always be the King.  Long Live The King!

H Ian Jones

Chair, OSA