By Toussaint Smith, Staff Reporter 
Ernie Smith performing live his song 'Reggae Reggae Music' at the New Kingston Hotel (now Hilton) in 1980. - File
The Gleaner has had its fingers on the pulse of the entertainment scene for decades. Naturally, our picture archives contain many a '1000-word story' about those who have given us happy, memorable moments. In our new series, 'From the Archives', we pluck a pic and take a peek into the past, speaking to the central figure about the moment and subsequent events.
With hit songs like Life is Just for Living, Duppy or Gunman, Take Me Home and Reggae Reggae Music, this week's 'From the Archives' focuses on singer and songwriter Ernie Smith.
THE STORY reads: 'Ernie Smith in
concert'. Reggae Reggae Music, one of Ernie's most recent hits, had the members of the audience rocking in their seats at Thursday's show at the New Kingston Hotel
ballroom. Ernie was accompanied by Carlene Davis. Both singers are in Jamaica doing a series of
concerts, organised by Ed Wallace Productions and sponsored by Red Stripe. On bass guitar is Martin Lesmond.
Sunday Gleaner: What was the series of concert you and Ms. Davis performed in?
Ernie Smith: "It was a concert where, ahh... it was like my first return to Jamaica after, I think it was '76. I'd almost call it after exile (laughs). Well, I don't remember the name of the
concert... There was another song called Take Me Home, it was like a slow song about, you nuh, being abroad and missing Jamaica, right. I was off to
perform at a concert; I was
coming back after... it was 1976 when there was a 'State of Emergency' and I ended up
having to leave Jamaica and being advised by people that my life wasn't safe here. The songs, for one The Power & The Glory was banned in 1976 on the Michael Manley regime and people were telling me I wasn't safe living in Jamaica any more, so I went abroad and that concert now was the first concert that was performed when I came back in 1980.
Sunday Gleaner: What was it like performing with her?
ES: I was in Toronto for three years, right, and I met miss Davis there, and we performed together there in Canada, places like Rimouski, Ottawa, Cariame, many places not even known about in Jamaica. So then, when we came here we were already performing together you know... She was so full of energy, right, that it was pleasure to perform with her.
Sunday Gleaner: Were there any other major acts in the series of events?
ES: In that series of concerts... no... We can't forget on some of the shows we did when we came back, Nadine Sutherland was 12 years old and she was
performing and she was
dynamite... Oh yeah, she was about 12 and she was kicking... she was hot (laughs).
Sunday Gleaner: How has the way you perform changed since then?
ES: Since then I have learned more through ahh... I involve the whole audience in what I'm doing, I have realised that you can't give everything new, right? When you haven't been around for a while you can't give people what they are used to as well as the new, so I've evolved a lot since that performance.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Sunday Gleaner: What are you up to now?
ES: Well, right now I'm still writing... I'm working on an album. There is no release date... It doesn't have a name yet, I'm just putting the songs together you know... Since the 38th anniversary concert in '97; we had a thirty-eight anniversary concert in '97, where we you know... at the Pegasus right... since then. And there was a
double album released at that
time. Since then I have done two more albums. One is called
Living Life at its Best, which
has some tracks from the '97 album. It also has a country song on it and it also has the live
performance of Life is Just for Living performed in Tokyo. And there is another album called Ernie Smith Live in Rhode Island, so those are the three recordings I have done since then.
Sunday Gleaner: Do you have any shows coming up?
ES: Well, I just did the Kenny Rogers show, which was last week or week before? I'm
scheduled to performed in Toronto and Ottawa with Jerry Butler, Neville Moore and Milly Jackson and then I'm scheduled to perform in the Cayman Islands with Pluto Shervington and Ken Lazarus and Boris Gardener... and I'm doing Stars 'R' Us, which is December 25, 26 and 27 and there are other
private gigs and things like
that so I'm busy" (he laughs).
