In Defense of Ska Ep 59: The Life and Times of Skatalites trombonist Don Drummond

Ska forever changed the course of music. Not only in Jamaica, but all over the world. Many talented people were involved with its development in the late 50s/60s. But a lot of credit is owed to The Skatalites for perfecting and elevating the genre.

Within the Skatalites camp, trombonist Don Drummond was incredibly important and influential. He wrote and/or arranged a majority of their songs. He also brought a somber vibe to the otherwise upbeat genre of music, often writing songs in minor keys. And he also forever linked the trombone with ska, something that remains true to this day, even as the genre has mutated in surprising ways.

Today we look at the life and times of Don Drummond. On one hand, he was one of the greatest musical geniuses to ever walk the earth. His impact is immeasurable. On the other hand, he was a troubled and tragic figure, riddled with mental illness. He murdered his girlfriend Anita "Margarita" Mahfood in 1965 and then died a few years later while imprisoned at Bellevue Asylum.

We bring on a panel of guests to tell the story of Don's life and to understand the impact that he had. Our panel includes Heather Augustyn, author of Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist, Adam Reeves, who is currently working on a comic book adaptation of Heather's book. It will be called Trombone Man: Ska's Fallen Genius. And lastly, Ken Stewart, who's been the keyboardist/manager for The Skatalites since the late 80s. 

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If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.