With the string of hits that made Johnny Clarke the 'Hit Machine' came a distinctive sound, the rapid, consistent hiss from the drum set that was dubbed the 'flying cymbal'.

It became the signature sound of Johnny Clarke's hits, including Move Out of Babylon, and carried him to musical heights at home and abroad.

It was not, however, a pre-planned development.

"Da soun' deh come true the powers of the Creator," Clarke told The Sunday Gleaner. "It was like a family thing, all musician inside the studio an' a tune up themself before the real session."

muscle

"Is while the man them a flex them muscle we hear the son' deh. It was a practice, jus' a feel out the vibes. The producer hear it an' I an' I an him run een an sey when the session start a that soun' we want," he said.

That drummer was The Aggravators' Santa Davis.

None Shall Escape the Judgement was the first song laid on a music track with the flying cymbal, the same day the sound cropped up. Many more came after.

capture the market

"Is like we fin' a soun' an' we sey before it wear out. Between the time between it start and slow down, we put out a whole heap a tune that capture the market," he said. Included in the series were Jah Jah In Deh, Move Out of Babylon and Left With a Broken Heart.

"We put more feature on the drum set. In those days, people embrace changes," Clarke said, describing the flying cymbal' as having "a more uptempo, calypso kind of beat".

M.C.