OLD-timers love to reminisce on the days when Jamaican disc jockeys had indiscriminate tastes. They not only heard Jamaican music, but got a taste of opera singer Mario Lanza or the country and western ballads of Marty Robbins.
Drs Leonard Miller and Richard Kirkwood sowed their musical seeds on those eclectic sounds. Two years ago, the long-time friends decided to salute that era with a cover album of secular and spiritual standards.
Travelling Companion (Faith, Hope and Inspiration) is the title of that album which will be released this evening at University Crescent in St Andrew.
making a mark
Miller and Kirkwood perform pop staples such as Jimmy Cliff's Many Rivers To Cross and Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now. They also put their mark on the age-old favourite, The Lord's Prayer, and Eye On The Sparrow.
Each song is accompanied by narratives done by former Radio Jamaica announcer Radcliffe Butler, advertising executive Adrian Robinson, actress Leonie Forbes and playwright Trevor Rhone, who died in September.
Miller, an ophthalmologist, said it took 18 months to complete Travelling Companion at the Stage studios of the Fab Five band. The double album was produced by Fab Five drummer/vocalist Grub Cooper.
Miller told The Sunday Gleaner that selecting songs was not a problem since he and Kirkwood have similar tastes.
"We have the same appreciation for the classics, gospel and contemporary music. So, it was a no-brainer really," he said.
Recording, however, was not as simple. Miller would go straight to the studio after work whereas Kirkwood, an emergency room veteran, travelled to Kingston several times from his home in upstate New York to lay his vocals.
take you away
Miller said Travelling Companion is more than just a homage to songs he and Kirkwood love.
"We want it to be something you can slip into the player when you're in your car and listen to. It's meant to take you away from the everyday 'man a shoot, man a kill' thing we hear on the radio," Miller explained.
Rhone, arguably Jamaica's greatest playwright, voiced two narratives: Claude McKay's timeless poem, If I Should Die, and Body and Soul. Miller said Rhone listened to the almost-complete project two months before his sudden death.
a life of music
Miller and Kirkwood are both in their early 60s and have been involved in music for most of their lives. Originally from Rollington Town, Miller was a member of the Kingston College Choir while the Manchester-raised Kirkwood performed with bands like Bare Essentials and the Presidents.
While at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, they formed Casual T with fellow medical students Audley 'Knapp' Betton and Antiguan Charlie Roberts. The group had a big hit in the late 1970s with the self-produced ballad, Let's Hold On.
The song's success earned the quartet a slot on Reggae Sunsplash in 1983.
They also recorded an album, Prescription For Love, which was produced by Rita Marley.
Professional duties resulted in the group splitting up in the late 1980s.
Betton is a general practitioner whereas Roberts, a pulmonologist specialising in sports medicine, led the medical team for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz for several years.
Travelling Companion (Faith, Hope and Inspiration) was officially released two weeks ago.