Page last revised: 1/17/18

Mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica in the 19th century, and was  uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions. In mento's recorded history pre-history, from the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of Jamaican songs were put to wax by Caribbean jazz artists. In the 1930 and 1940s, Slim and Sam, a mento group who performed in Kingston, gained renown and are recalled today. They're  remembered for their originals, and sold "tracts" -- printed lyrics -- at their performances. (The book "Reggae Routes" by Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen lists the names of some of these originals, and  has additional information and even a picture of Slim and Sam.)

But it wasn't until the early 1950s that true mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mento's creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaica's recording industry.

These recordings reveal mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision. In addition to mento's African and European roots, by this time, it had also encompassed pan-Caribbean influences, as well as from American jazz. Although it was informed by a world of music, mento is clearly, uniquely Jamaican. And as Jamaica's original music, all other Jamaican music can trace its roots to mento.

Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded inna dancehall stylee today.) Other styles, while purely mento, seem to have done less to contribute to the development of later Jamaican music.

During this time, Trinidadian calypso was the Caribbean’s top musical export, and the term "Calypso" was used generically applied to Jamaican mento as well. Far more often than it was called by its proper name, mento was called "calypso", "kalypso" or "mento calypso". Adding to the confusion, Jamaica had its own calypso singers that did not record mento, such as Lord Creator. (The Trinidad-born Creator later became a ska singer for Studio 1.) And mento artists would often perform calypso songs in the mento style, or record a mento song with calypso influence. Some mento artists followed the calypsonian practice of adding a title such as "Count" or "Lord" to their name. But make no mistake, mento is a distinctly different sound from calypso, with its own instrumentation, rhythms, pacing, vocal styles, harmonies, and lyrical concerns.

The Classic Rural Sound

The classic mento sound is the acoustic, informal, folksy rural style. Still sometimes referred to as country music in Jamaica, it's easy to imagine farmers and their families celebrating harvest with a mento dance. Typical instruments included banjo, acoustic guitar, a home-made saxophone, clarinet or flute made from bamboo, a variety of hand percussion and a rumba box.  Often, these songs had a proto-reggae beat, and sounded like an acoustic antediluvian form of reggae. (The mento proto-reggae beat was especially reminiscent of reggae where the dub echo doubles the guitar chop. Bob Marley's "Sun Is Shining" from "Kaya" is an example that leaps to mind.)

The frequent use of banjo in mento may come as a surprise, since this did not carry over into later Jamaican music. This is strange, considering how great this instrument sounds in mento, and how many different ways it was played. It strummed the rhythm similarly to the role of guitar in reggae. It was a lead instrument, sometimes played very precisely and sometimes very loosely. It could riff wildly, or be played as orderly and pointillisticly as a music box. Sometimes it chimed like a steel drum, other times it sounded like a mandolin. But banjo always brightened up the song.

One thing mento banjo doesn't sound like is the banjo playing heard in bluegrass or other American musical traditions. Mento banjo had different approaches.

Although you can count on one hand the number of reggae songs that feature banjo, some guitar techniques heard in reggae, such as the picked rhythmic playing employed by many Jamaican  guitarists sound as if they have their roots in the banjo playing of the island's past.

Acoustic guitar was typically a strummed rhythm instrument. Banjo or winds most typically handled any soloing.

The bamboo sax had a distinctive, organic sound. The Sugar Belly page has information, pictures and even video of this instrument in action.

The rumba box is a large thumb piano built from from a wooden box. A large circular sound hole is cut into the front, over which are a number of tuned metal tines. These are plucked to produce bass notes. One of reggae's hallmarks is a sparse, thunderous bass-line. The rumba box provided much the same for mento, albeit in a more rudimentary form. Depending on how the tines were plucked, the rumba box could also produce a rich and unusual percussive sound. The rumba box is typically sat on as it is played. Scaled-down souvenir rumba boxes were available to tourists in Jamaica during the 1950s and 1960s.

The type of percussion heard on these recordings is another important feature of mento's unique sound. A full drum set would have been impractical, too expensive and a poor fit for such a rural, acoustic and informal music. Instead, if drums were present on a rural recording, a single hand drum was typically used. But as is often the case in mento, less is more. The single drum could really open up the music, by playing a solo or by its playing throughout a song. Sometimes, a second percussion instrument would be added, such as maracas (which were typical) or wood blocks. Hand drumming developed further in later Jamaican music, as African-influenced Rastafarian nyabhinghi drumming became an important ingredient in reggae. 

Additional instruments (such as harmonica, fiddle, fife or penny whistle, and others) were also part of rural mento and found their way into many recordings from this era. It seems to be a rule that if a mento song features harmonica, it would be a fantastically upbeat recording. Likewise, if it featured fiddle, it sounded very country to my ears.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the popularity of R&B in Jamaica would effectively filter out banjo, bamboo instruments, clarinet, rumba box, flute, fife and penny whistle from later Jamaican music.

The Urban Mento Style

With lineage back to the Caribbean-jazz bands of the 1920s, there was a second style of mento. This was the more urban, polished, jazzy dance band style. (This term came from Dan Neely's liner notes in the compilation CD, "Boogu Yagga Gal") If you are looking at a mento label and the word "Orchestra" appears in the artist's name, it's most probably a dance band recording. 

In dance band mento, home-made instruments were replaced by professional saxes and clarinets and basses. Often, banjo was left behind in favor of electric guitar. Along with clarinet, piano was often a featured instrument, as the music became overtly jazzy. Percussion was less rustic, and sometimes had a Latin feel. Almost all of the rural style's rough edges were smoothed out. In the 1960s, a calypso inflection was often heard in urban reggae, replacing the jazz sound. Dance band mento seems to have largely died out by the 70s, while the original rural style continued. However, the musicians of this style of mento contributed greatly to the jazz that was such an important element of ska.

The Lyrics

Though mento bands recorded a handful of quadrille and mento instrumentals, most mento songs had vocals. Mento's lyrics are typically a lot of fun. As a whole, they portray the issues, large and small, of life in Jamaica. Some songs are about Jamaica itself. Some described Jamaican foods and recipes -- just one way that mento gave you a real slice of Jamaican life in the 1950s. (There were so many songs about various fruits, it could be considered a sub-genre.) The trials and tribulations of Jamaicans migrating to England was a popular topic. All manner of relationships between people are explored, as is the problematic and comic relationship between man and animal. Though there a few serious or sad songs, the great majority were happy and positive.

Humor was integral to many mento songs. This sometimes includes ribald lyrics, filled with double entendres, which delighted Jamaicans and tourists alike. These songs were very popular, and can be seen as the beginning of what grew into the explicit slackness lyrics in reggae. Though, by today's standards, mento naughtiness is very mild. Yet, the popularity of these records led to a scare where the Jamaican government considered banning native 'calypso' records! There were also topical songs describing and commenting on the latest styles and news stories. This may be the earliest song writing tradition in mento, along with adapting Jamaican folk songs. Two mento lyricists stand out: Count Lasher and Everard Williams, who each wrote a bushel of classic songs. There are very few of what could be described as a traditional love song in mento. Also refreshingly absent are self aggrandizing lyrics. Mento artists had enough to say without singing about their own preeminence. 

In addition to songs of Jamaican origin, many Trinidadian calypso songs made their way into the mento repertoire. For example, "Hold 'em Joe" was first recorded by Lord Executioner in the 1910s. But while a number of songs found their way to Jamaica's shores, the calypso practice of extemporaneously improvising lyrics did not. Mento songs aimed specifically at Jamaica's tourists, such as "Take Her To Jamaica (Where The Rum Comes From)" where also part of the mix.

Recording more than one vocal performance to the same musical backing is a quintessentially reggae practice. But it appears to have originated in mento, where this was not uncommon. Old folk and mento melodies would sometimes acquire altered, or an entirely new set of lyrics. (The melody from "Rucumbine" proved to be especially reusable.) Those who have acquired these recordings described on the Can I Buy Mento Music? page can compare "Naughty Little Flea" from Lord Flea’s "Swinging Calypsos" to "Nebuchadnezzar" from Laurel Aitken’s "The Pioneer of Jamaican Music". The lyrical content and vocal style couldn’t be more different, but the music is essentially the same. Or compare the two Lord Composer clips, Galag Gully; Matilda and Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road. As in reggae, this practice does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of these recordings.

The Vocals

Mento's vocalists sang in a variety of styles and pitches. But if there is one style that sounds most mento of all, it's the nasal, rural sound that some mento singers possessed. It's a sound with strong echoes of African heritage. Listen to the intonation, phrasing and melodic approach that Harold Richardson displays in the opening line of, "Don't Fence Her In", or in, "Glamour Gal". That is a great mento voice. Then, listen to Alert Bedasse, the lead singer in Chin's Calypso Sextet on such songs as "Adam and Eve" and "Not Me Again". You will hear a very mento voice. (You will also hear bamboo sax, a very mento instrument.) Some reggae singers posses something of these vocal qualities, but (with the exception of the heavily mento influences Stanley Beckford) never really matched this sound.

The Venues and Festivals

Mento was everywhere in Jamaica, live and recorded, in the country and the city, uptown and downtown, at work, at dances, at funerals, at burlesque shows, at tourist resorts, as an added attraction at the movie theater, at bars, at the airport, at markets, at night clubs and at festivals and contests. Basically, any public gathering might include a mento band as entertainment. But it was at the festivals and competitions where one could have been treated to incredible multi-act bills.

For example, in 1953, the Ward Theatre hosted the First Annual All-Island Calypso Band Contest. Thirteen bands competed, including first place winner Lord Power, second place winner Lord Messam. There was a tie for third between Lord Food and His Firehouse Four and Clyde Hoyte and his Sunbeams . Sugar Belly won a consolation prize, as the controversial scoring was said to have penalized him. Power's raucous set was lauded, but Messam's set was said to be tame because he was too used to catering to the tastes of tourists. Hoyte's set was said to be suited for a nightclub and Lord Food (I wonder if this is Lord Foodoos) performed "Mother Love".

An even more impressive collection of talent was assembled at the 1955 Calypso Pepper Pot show, again a the Ward Theatre, as seen below left. Silver Seas, Lord Lebby, Lord Messam, Count Lasher, visiting Trinidadian calypsonians, renown Jamaican jazz band Eric Deans and His Orchestra and many more performed, including Lord Tanamo and Sir Horace, both of whom were not part of the advertisement. Judges included Louise Bennett, Mapletoft Poulle and Stanley Motta. The winner was Silver Seas for their song "Chinese Cricket". Second place was Count Barry featuring lead vocalist Lord Lebby. Third place was has by Count Lasher for his performance of "History of Jamaica" and "Calypso Cha Cha." Lord Messam won best costume and performed "If You're Not White, You're Considered Black".

At the Duns River Falls Festival in 1964, a mento competition attracted a roster that included Count Lasher, Count Owen, Sugar Belly, Harold Richardson and The Ticklers, and some less well remembered acts, such as The Diggers, The Pirates, The Ever Ready Band and The Seven Elevens. Also on the bill were Carlos Malcolm and Louise Bennett.

Men-to

Though the club was not exclusively male, there were very few female mento singers. Golden age exceptions included a few odd singles by the jazzy Louise Lamb and Louise Bennett, who was primarily a Jamaican folk singer, but did record some urban mento. In mento's middle period, there was a single by female singer Girl Wonder.  Visit The Wailers and Mento page for Girl Wonder's surprising identity.

Mento's Peak of Popularity in the US and UK

Late in the 1950s, a calypso craze swept both sides of the Atlantic, spearheaded by Harry Belafonte's massive popularity. But many of Belafonte's calypso songs, were, in fact mento and Jamaican folk songs. This helped open the door for mento acts to go international.  London Records released a mento compilation of material licensed from the Jamaican M.R.S. label. Lord Flea appeared on American TV shows, in two Hollywood films and released an album on Capitol. Other groups, such as The Silver Seas Calypso Band appeared on American television. Lord Foodoos recorded for Electra Records. Consistently, however, the generic term "calypso" rather than the more descriptive "mento" was used. The calypso craze ended by the early 1960s, and with that, mento faded from the international market.

The Golden Age Ends

Mento’s golden age ended as American R&B exploded in Jamaica. Sounding more modern, urban and danceable to Jamaican ears, R&B supplanted mento as the country’s favorite musical form. However, mento continued to be played and recorded. When R&B ran it course, shrewd Jamaican producers/sound system operators sensed that the island was again ready for a more Jamaican sound. Elements of mento were combined with R&B, resulting in the brief pre-ska era of songs, such as the Prince Buster produced, "Oh Carolina". Not to be outdone, Coxsone Dodd assembled Jamaica’s finest jazz musicians, added their skills to the mix, and ska exploded on the scene, triumphant. A new Jamaican music was being born just as Jamaican was being born as an independent country in 1962. But mento's golden age had ended.

For more on mento's golden age, visit artists', More Golden Age Album Scans, More Golden Age Single Scans and the Can I Buy Mento? pages. The Other Artists and Favorite Songs page has sound clips from a number of songs from the golden age.

The Middle Period (1960s)

As ska begat rock steady, and rock steady begat reggae, many Jamaicans largely looked upon mento as old-fashioned and provincial compared to the exciting new music that the island continued to generate. As Glen Washington sang in 1976 on "Rockers (Nu Crackers)", in the only reference to mento I've found in a reggae lyric:

Down in the ghetto,
Don't want no mento sounds,
Don't want calypso,
Don't want no other sounds,
Only rockers

(A few years later Lord Laro took a more positive view in his "Mento DJ Jam". He sings, "reggae come from mento", that "the mento has been around as long as our history" and even mentions quadrille with an incongruent instrumental backing that fuses dancehall and Trinidadian soca sounds.)

But mento continued to be recorded. Some 45 RPM singles (such as King Barou's great 45 RPM, "Calypso Cha Cha Cha" on Coxsone Dodd's Port-O-Jam label) and many LPs were produced in the middle period.  These were targeted primarily at tourists, who often found a mento group playing at their hotel. Judging by the surprisingly high number of autographed mid-period records floating around today, it would appear

To see jackets from all of the releases mentioned above and more from mento's middle period, visit the artists' pages, More Middle Period Album Scans, More Middle Single Scans and the Can I Buy Mento?  pages. The Other Artists and Favorite Songs page has sound clips from a number of songs from the middle period. 

The Mento Resurgence (1977 - Today)

Mento's popularity as recorded music experienced a resurgence beginning in 1977 and continuing through today.

1977 - 1990s

Mento's popularity experienced a resurgence beginning 1977, when the NYC-based Lyrichord world music label released the Jolly Boys "Roots of Reggae" on LP and cassette. In 1989, two Jolly Boys  CDs appeared on the American Ryko label. This was followed by several more CDs on non-Jamaican labels. Although none of these releases are in print today [though some are coming back in print. See the news page.], they must have done well enough to show that there was a market for mento. Other releases followed. A Lititz Mento Band CD was released out of Germany, which may be explained by the fact that Jamaica is a popular vacation destination for Germans. A 1997 The Humming Birds CD was released only in Japan, where they are crazy for Jamaican music, and mento seems to enjoy a small but dedicated fan base. In 1997, the final Jolly Boys CD, a live set recorded in 1992, was released in Japan only.

Reggae's Sleng Teng riddim of the early 1980s kicked off the digital revolution that lead to today's dancehall sounds. A song to that riddim, "Pumpkin Belly" by Tenor Saw unexpectedly mentions mento bamboo sax player Sugar Belly and calls him the "king of the saxophone". Another song by Tenor Saw from this era was his hit "Ring The Alarm". This song, about "another a sound [system] is dying", unexpectedly interjects lyrics from the mento song "Hold 'Im Joe". This could either be in remembrance of when sound systems played mento records, or perhaps alerting against mento being forgotten.

2000 - 2001

This international interest segued nicely into a renewed interest in mento at home, as The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission released "Mento Music in Jamaica, Vol. 1" in 2000. Other Jamaican releases, such as the largely instrumental Rod Dennis Mento Band and The Blue Glaze Mento Band, appeared the next year.

Another 2001 release was the overdue and crucial golden age anthology "Boogu Yagga Gal" on the Heritage label out of the UK. This was soon followed by other collections of 1950s mento.

2002 - 2003

In 2002, Mutabaruka released both reggae and mento versions of "The Monkey". Based on the old the mento song, "Monkey Talk", the latter offered a fusion of mento and dub poetry. (On the same LP, Muta also recorded "Miss Lou", a salute to Louise Bennett.) Lord Tanamo played a set of mento at a Legends of Ska reunion concert. The Golden Aires released two CDs, complete with video.

Also in 2002,"Stanley Beckford Plays Mento", a collaboration with The Blue Glaze Mento Band, was released. This CD is comprised of classic mento tracks, a handful of Bob Marley songs mento-style and new mento renditions of some of Stanley's reggae-mento songs. One of these is a great track, "Broom Weed", that showed mento could move forward in new directions, while still being true to what mento is. Then, in 2003, another golden age compilations, "Rookumbine" from the Khouri family was released.

2004

In 2004, a collection of golden age MRS recordings, "Mento Madness" was released, as was Stanley Beckford's second mento CD, Reggaemento, again backed by the The Blue Glaze Mento Band.  Then, a series of five CDs compiling 80 (!) songs by Chin's Calypso Sextet began to be released, as the great mento remembrance continued.

There have been mento-ska LPs, (see the Count Owen and Hiltonaires pages for just two examples) and reggae-mento was an entire genre of reggae onto itself (see the pages for Stanley Beckford and Naaman Lee). Then, evidence of a fusion between Jamaica's oldest and newest forms of music was heard as mento-dancehall recordings appeared from Jamaica.

In 2004, Louie Culture recorded "Donkey Back". Dancehall vocals and rhythms were successfully merged with banjo, synthesized flute, and lyrics filled with country proverbs, producing a most enjoyable track. Later that year, the "Chaka Chaka" dancehall riddim broke, featuring harmonica, banjo, fiddle swoops (though played on guitar), a bass line simple enough for a rumba box, and a pre-reggae beat, dancehall style. Beenie Man voices the riddim several times, as does Elephant Man, who works in the melody of "Sammy's Dead". "Wi Have It", by TOK , captures the upbeat, celebratory spirit of the riddim especially well.

2005

A Chaka Chaka single-riddim collection CD is released in April. It includes all of the recordings to that riddim, except, sadly, the TOK track, which is worth seeking out as a single.

2006

In January of 2006, Raged Records released the double CD set, "Strummer: A Clash Tribute", which contains a mento version of "Junco Partner."  The group, King Django and Dr. Ring Ding meet The Freshmakers featuring Lord Tannehill includes Dan Neely. For more information, visit Dan's site.

In March 2006, Monty Alexander's "Concrete Jungle" CD was released. It featured a track with the Rod Dennis Mento Band -- a rural mento version of Bob Marley and The Wailers' "Three Little Birds", featuring Monty on melodica. In April, at a NYC performance, Monty and band jammed with Carlton James of the Rod Dennis Mento Band.

In April 2006, Trojan released the two CD collection: "Dip and Fall Back!: Dr. Kinsey To Haile Selassie - Classic Jamaican Mento". The first disc contains golden age sides, while the 2nd disc contains middle period recordings. In June of 2006, Pressure Sounds released "Take Me To Jamaica" - another good golden age collection.

2009

In the first half of 2009, another mento-dancehall riddim hit the street. The "National Pride" riddim featured a feel good vibe, banjo and a simplified pre-reggae beat. It attracted big names like Beenie Man, Elephant Man and TOK amongst others. Memories were stimulated in two songs. "No Man Room" by Ding Dong utilized some of the melody of the Clyde Hoyte's mento song "Daphne's Walking". "The Garden" by Degree featuring Lukie D recalls a few lyrics from Count Lasher's "Water The Garden".

In December, a new CD by Gilzene and The Blue Light Mento Band was released.

2010 and on

In the 2010 The Jolly Boys made a return to recording with a surprising album, video and media-rich new web site. They toured Europe, and at the start of the next year, the US . Also in 2010, Tallawah Mento Band released a strong CD. The same year, roots reggae group Israel Vibration surprised by including a mento song, "Cantankerous", on their Reggae Knights album. In 2011, The Blue Blaze Mento Band released a guest star filled CD. In 2013 Larry And The Mento Boys released an 18 song CD. And the double CD golden-age collection called "Mento, Not Calypso" was released. Others followed, as listed on the Can I Buy Mento? page.

For more on the releases from mento's resurgence, visit the More Resurgence CD Scans, Can I Buy Mento? and the Other Artists and Songs Clips, Stanley Beckford and Jolly Boys pages.

Also see:

For more information on mento, also see:

• This site's Jamaican Music Roadmap .

• This site's Edric Connor, Louise Bennett & Jamaican Folk Music page has video about mento and Jamaican folk music, and includes a mento performance.

• The Beat magazine, [Volume 20, No. 6, 2001], for the five page article, Long Time Gal! Mento Is Back!, by Daniel Neely.

• The liner notes of the release Boogu Yagga Gal.

• The September 2004 issue of Global Rhythm magazine, where Dan Neely has a two page article that reviews the history of mento with an emphasis on the start of Stanley Motta's MRS label. It also discusses Stanley Beckford's career and is well worth the small cost of a back issue. The magazine is bagged with a CD that includes Lord Messam's fine recording of "Linstead Market", from the Motta compilation CD, "Mento Madness".

• The book "Reggae Routes" by Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen has information and even a picture of mento's earliest remembered act, Slim and Sam.