Born Cecil Bustamente Campbell on Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica, his middle name was given to him by his family in honour of the Labour activist and first post-Independence Prime Minister William Alexander Clarke Bustamante, in the early 1940s Campbell was sent to live with his grandmother in rural Jamaica where his family's commitment to the Christian faith gave him his earliest musical experiences in the form of church singing as well as private family prayer and hymn meetings. Returning to live at Orange Street while still a young boy; Campbell attended the Central Branch School and St. Anne's School. While at school Campbell performed three or four times a week at the Glass Bucket Club as part of Frankie Lymon's Sing and Dance Troupe; rock 'n' roll themed shows were popular during the 1950s with the Glass Bucket Club establishing a reputation as the premier music venue and social club for Jamaican teenagers at that time. Upon leaving school Campbell found himself drawn to the ranks of followers that supported the sound system of Tom the Great Sebastian. Jamaican sound systems at that time were playing American rhythm 'n' blues and Campbell credits Tom the Great Sebastian with his first introduction to the songs and artists that would later influence his own music: The Clovers' "Middle of the Night", Fats Domino's "Mardi Gras in New Orleans", the Griffin Brothers featuring Margie Day, and Shirley & Lee.
Campbell became more actively involved in the operational side of running a sound system after he was introduced to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd; a musically-inclined businessman who operated one of Kingston's most popular sound systems. Campbell found himself fulfilling a variety of roles for Coxsone: providing security, handling ticket receipts, identifying and sourcing music as well as working in the essential role of selector. The knowledge he gained about the financial and logistical aspects of staging a sound system dance was put to good use when Campbell made the decision to start his own sound system called 'Voice of the People'. Campbell approached his family and a radio shop owner called Mr Wong for financial backing; both parties agreed. Campbell's 'Voice of the People' sound system was soon operational and within a short time had established itself as a rival to the sound systems of Coxsone and Reid. Campbell applied to the Farm Work Program (guest worker scheme for the US agricultural sector) with the intention of buying music for his sound system but on the day of departure was refused entry into the scheme. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to personally source records from the US Campbell decided to record his own music. He approached Arkland "Drumbago" Parks; a professional drummer at the Baby Grand Club who had arranged and recorded a special (exclusive recording) for the Count Boysie sound system. Drumbago agreed to help and Campbell immediately began rehearsing with the musicians at the Baby Grand Club including the guitarist Jah Jerry who played on Campbell's first recording session.
In 1961 Campbell released his first single "Little Honey/Luke Lane Shuffle" featuring Jah Jerry, Drumbago and Rico Rodriquez recording under the name of Buster's Group. In that same year he produced "Oh Carolina" by the Folkes Brothers which was released on his Wild Bells label. The drumming on the record was provided by members of the Count Ossie Group; nyabinghi drummers from the rastafarian community, Camp David, situated on the Wareika Hill above Kingston. After becoming a hit in Jamaica "Oh Carolina" was licensed to Melodisc; a UK label owned by Emil Shalet. Melodisc released the track on their subsidiary label Blue Beat; the label would go on to become synonymous with 1960s ska releases for the UK market.
Campbell recorded prolifically throughout the 1960s; notable early ska releases include: "Madness" (1963), "Wash Wash" (1963 with Ernest Ranglin on bass), "One Step Beyond" (1964) and "Al Capone" (1964). The documentary This is Ska (1964), hosted by Edward Seaga and filmed at the Sombrero Club, includes Campbell performing his Jamaican hit "Wash Wash". In 1964 Campbell met World Heavyweight Champion boxer Muhammad Ali who invited him to attend a Nation of Islam talk at Mosque 29 in Miami. That year Campbell joined the Nation of Islam and also started to release material on his own imprint label called "Islam". In 1965 he appeared in Millie in Jamaica (a film short about Millie Small's return to Jamaica after the world-wide success of "My Boy Lollipop") which was broadcast on Rediffusion's Friday evening pop show Ready, Steady, Go!. Campbell had a Top Twenty hit in the UK with the track "Al Capone" (#18, February 1967). He toured the UK in spring 1967 appearing at the Marquee club in May and later toured America to promote the RCA Victor LP release The Ten Commandments (From Man To Woman). By the late 1960s Campbell was once again at the forefront of a musical change in Jamaica; the new music would be called rocksteady. Campbell tracks like "Shaking Up Orange Street" (1967) were arranged with the slower more soulful rocksteady template as used by Alton Ellis ("Rock Steady") and many others. The album Judge Dread Rock Steady was released in 1967 and the title track "Judge Dread" with its satirical theme and vocal style proved to be popular to the point of parody. In 1968 the compilation album FABulous was released; opening with the track "Earthquake" (which revisited the theme of Orange Street) and including earlier hits the album has regularly been reissued in the UK.
In 1972 the movie The Harder They Come was released which features Campbell in a cameo role as a DJ.
The UK ska revival at the end of the 1970s that started with the 2-Tone label from Coventry introduced Campbell's music to a new generation of listeners. In 1979 the band Madness released their first single on 2-Tone, a tribute to Campbell called "The Prince". The B-side was a cover of the Campbell song "Madness" from which they took their name. Their second single, released on the Stiff label ("The Prince" would be the only single released by Madness on the 2-Tone label), was a cover of Campbell's "One Step Beyond", which reached the UK Top 10. On their self-titled debut album, The Specials covered "Too Hot" as well as borrowing elements from Campbell's "Judge Dread" (in the song "Stupid Marriage") and "Al Capone" (in the song "Gangsters"). The Specials also included a cover of "Enjoy Yourself" on their second album More Specials. The Beat covered "Rough Rider" and "Whine & Grine" on their album I Just Can't Stop It. Campbell's song "Hard Man Fe Dead" was covered by the U.S. ska band The Toasters on their 1996 album 2 Tone Army.
In 1994 a UK court ruled in favour of John Folkes and Greensleeves after they brought a lawsuit against Campbell and Melodisc (CampbelI by this time had acquired Melodisc) concerning authorship of "Oh Carolina". Campbell had a Top Thirty hit in the UK with the track "Whine and Grine" (#21, April 1998) after the song had been used in an advert for Levi's.
In 2001 Campbell was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government for his contribution to music.
He performed at the 2002 Legends Of Ska festival in Toronto. Other appearances include: Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003; the 2006 Boss Sounds Reggae Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne,[16] the 40th Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with the Delroy Williams Junction Band, and the 2007 UK Rhythm Festival.
Prince Buster
Prince Buster Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And want the farmer to tell her how
Farmer say you've got a knife
But nah bother bring a light
I will heal you in my farmyard
Come along, oh
Healing in the farmyard
Healing in the farmyard
Now if you want to learn something
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Healing in the farmyard
A woman want to hold down her man
And want to do it as fast as she can
Farmer say you've got a knife
But nah bother bring a light
I will heal you in the farmyard
Alleluia
Healing in the farmyard
Sister and brother
Healing in the farmyard
Now if you want to know something
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Healing in the farmyard
/instrumental interlude/
Farmer want fe him likkle beast(piece?)
Said this is the Jennifer from far east
Sister Jenny come and eat
But nah bother lock di gate
And let me heal you in the farmyard
Come along, oh
Healing in the farmyard
Everybody
Healing in the farmyard
Now if you want to know something
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Healing in the farmyard
Alleluia
Healing in the farmyard
Everybody
Healing in the farmyard
If you want to know something
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Healing in the farmyard
The lyrics to the song "Healing in the Farmyard" by Prince Buster appear to point to the concept of "healing" as a remedy for various problems faced by individuals. The song speaks of a woman who wants to "win with her cow" and a "farmer" who advises her to put away her knife and let him take care of her problems in his "farmyard." Similarly, a woman who wants to hold on to her man is advised to put away her knife and let the farmer heal her in the same way. The chorus consisting of "Alleluia/Healing in the farmyard" seems to highlight the power of healing as a solution to life's problems.
The lyrics may be interpreted as an analogy for the struggles of life and the need for finding solutions rather than resorting to violence. Prince Buster, in his inimitable style, encourages the listener to come and learn something from the "farmer" who can help them with their problems. The song may also be seen as a commentary on the societal issues faced by people in the Jamaican context. Prince Buster's observations on the need for healing and the power of forgiveness could be seen as a commentary on the political and social issues that plagued Jamaica at the time.
Line by Line Meaning
A woman want to win with her cow
A woman wants to succeed in a competition involving her cow
And want the farmer to tell her how
She is asking the farmer to give her advice
Farmer say you've got a knife
The farmer suggests that the woman already has a tool to succeed
But nah bother bring a light
However, she does not need to bring an additional tool
I will heal you in my farmyard
The farmer assures her that he will provide the solution to her problem
Healing in the farmyard
There is a remedy for her situation, and it involves the farmyard
Now if you want to learn something
If you are interested in gaining knowledge
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Listen to the song that I am singing about
A woman want to hold down her man
Another woman wants to keep her man faithful
And want to do it as fast as she can
She wants to achieve this goal quickly
Sister and brother
This remedy is not just for women, but also for men
Healing in the farmyard
The solution to this problem is on the farmyard
Now if you want to know something
If you want to gain insight
Farmer want fe him likkle beast(piece?)
The farmer wants to take care of his animal
Said this is the Jennifer from far east
He makes a reference to a person named Jennifer from a distant place
But nah bother lock di gate
However, he doesn't need to lock the gate to protect the animal
And let me heal you in the farmyard
He will provide the necessary treatment in the farmyard
Everybody
This issue concerns everyone
If you want to know something
If you want to gain knowledge on this topic
Come and listen, me a sing 'bout the
Listen to my song about this solution
Alleluia
This is a joyful song, with a message of hope
Contributed by Sadie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Terry Martin
@ Dawn Forrester
I like your comment Miss Dawn. May the Prince rest in Paradise. I am 63, I spent 6 years in
J🇯🇲MDowN, born in
E🇬🇧gland, heard Wreck a Pum Pum as an 8 yr old and followed Buster ever since. My guardians did not want me listening to
"" Slackness "" as they called it, oh well, every time I got money I would head straight to the Rum Bar and make selections on the Wurlitzer Jukebox, at that time there were 3 different forms of currency being used
the English pound £
the US dollar $ and the Jamaican $, funny thing was, the jukebox only accepted American coins. Left there and came back to Britain in 1972, just as Michael Manley came to power. In England Slade, Chuck Berry, God rest his soul, was on Top of the Pops, snow was on the ground and London was very cold, in fact I remembered reading in the Sun that a young Indian kid froze to death in Battersea Funfair Park. Have a wonderful life. Be well be safe stay healthy and blessed. The LI🦁N that
CRO👑NED The King.
The best of
BritJaM🇬🇧🇯🇲 11:15 am
May 4th/2023 Thursday
The Triumph of the Thrill
Simply some of the best music Jamaica has ever produced. Buster's personality shines through.
Sebastian Paniagua Isaza
Every now and then I listen to a random old ska/reggae comp and find a previous version of a song I love. This doesn't have an end!
inserter400
Prince Buster is truly the greatest ❤️
Jos van der Gun
The Best Jamaican music ever...Prince Buster's great groovy tracks will last 4ever: if these can't make you dance!!!
AMHTXC29
So honest and genuine. So enjoyable. So natural. So gooooooooood!!!
Roger Peachey
Bloody hell, I can't believe it.. I've actually got this album.. What a gem.
Ivan Torras
Bo això!!!Prince mai morirà. El pare del ska. SIMPLEMENT PERFECTE.
Vanessa Santos
Rest in peace..king of ska...
Terry Martin
🌹🌷🌻🌺
bruno dias
lindo!!