INTERVIEW : CARLTON LIVINGSTON
Interview by : Benoît Georges
Pictures by : Lenshot & Christian Bordey
on Tuesday, September 17th 2013 - 7 609 views
A travelling companion of Lone Ranger on the Soul Express sound system in the 70s, Carlton Livingston followed a very similar path. A spell at Channel One, then at Studio One when Coxsone was looking for new artists to revitalise his riddims ("I didn't audition, I just went there", he recalls), he left for New York in the early 80s without having really reaped the fruits of his work.
Another thing he has in common with Lone Ranger: Carlton Livingston was rediscovered in France about 10 years ago (with hits like Trodding through the jungle, Rumours and Please Mr. DJ), thanks to the Soul Stereo and Heartical sound systems. Since then, he has been heard notably with the Frenchman Grant Phabao alongside… Lone Ranger.
He should also be heard again with King Jammy, who plans to release tracks recorded almost twenty years ago. "He told me: 'We'll do it, you deserve it, I've had these songs for a long time and they're still good'. I can't wait to make this project happen." An interview with an authentic "dancehall singer".
Reggaefrance / What year were you born, and what was your childhood like?
Carlton Livingston /  I was born under the sign of Virgo, in September 1953 in St Mary. I left for Kingston at the age of 11. I'm an old man! I've been through my midlife crisis and now it's cool! (laughs). So, I left for Kingston with my mother, because my father wasn't very present.
What was the capital like for a little country boy?
At first it was overwhelming, but then when I started to walk the streets, it came like anything else and it went well after a little while. I adapted quickly.
Which neighbourhood did you grow up in?
The first time, I lived in East Kingston, Lake Road. And for most of my life, I lived in East Kingston. The last times, it was Franklin Town, Dunkirk... I'm an "eastman".
 Je n’aime pas les projecteurs, je suis une personne plutôt introvertie, un peu solitaire quelquefois. 
What were your first contacts with music?
Sound systems! I created a sound system with guys I knew from school. We called ourselves the "Fantastic Three". After that, I got involved in a sound called Soul Express. Actually, I was the deejay and Lone Ranger was the singer.
Lone Ranger was also from Franklin Town.
Right. I didn't know him at the time, I mean, before we ended up together on the sound. And then each of us found his own path: me singing, him deejaying.
And you never sang in church?
Yes, I started very young. My mother played the organ in church and my sister followed. I started early in church, except that I was rebellious: my grandmother always had to keep an eye on me so that I wouldn't get up to mischief. And then, after a while, I stopped going. But still, I learned a lot from my mother and grandmother by going to church.
How did you then make the move into recording?
There was this guy, Tony Walcott, a Christian. I mention it because he was certainly one of the Christians with the most dubplates! Whereas I didn't even know what that was at the time. He loved music, records, and he told me: "Christ isn't going to give you something just because you listen to music. You have to interpret it, but if you interpret it the wrong way, you'll do bad things." I didn't even argue the point. He heard me sing two or three times and said he liked what he heard. Every Saturday morning, he organised rehearsals at his house. I started going to rehearse at his place on Saturdays. Most of the time, we worked on a single song: I remember training on Pearls by Alton Ellis, a song with so many changes that if you make a mistake, you can't pick it up again halfway, you have to start all over from the beginning.
Was he the one who got you to record your first record?
No, he took me to Studio One. No, actually, he took me to Channel One, it was so long ago (laughs). We did Tale of two cities and then afterwards I went to record at Studio One, Why and a few other tracks.
Did you go through the whole audition process at Studio One?
Well no, I didn't audition at Studio One. I just went there! I think Tony Walcott had picked one or two riddims for me. I listened to the instrumentals, wrote the lyrics and that was it! Soon after, I left for New York with my family.
What year was that?
1981 or 1982. Actually, I went on tour in the United States and Canada, and because my family had taken care of all the paperwork to get papers, I decided to stay. Everything was well organised, legal. We landed in Brooklyn, it was good! "Wicked and nice". Those were good times.
How did you carry on with your musical career?
You could say my musical career is essentially a New York one. I recorded most of my music for Jah Life, like 100 lbs. a collie weed, recorded at Philip Smart's studio, which is actually on Long Island. I also recorded for Coxsone, a good forty titles, when he set up on Fulton Street. Every Sunday morning, I used my advance for the week to take three riddims that I would use to record the following week. And I kept on working like that.
And were you on the sounds too?
Not so much. I worked with some of them, but when I arrived in New York, I didn't get involved with any one sound. I worked with those who wanted to work with me, that's all. For example, I worked with Downbeat, but mostly in Jersey.
You mentioned 100 lbs. a collie weed, which is one of your hits, written in New York. It has to be said there must have been a load of weed arriving in New York at that time...
Clearly! I made those stories my own and it gave me inspiration for that song.
Do you still live in New York?
I live between three places: New York, Maryland and Jamaica.
In every clash, there is always at least one dubplate of yours being played. Do you follow that scene?
Not really. If I were younger, I would follow it, for sure. I remember that a few years ago, I went to Düsseldorf for a 45 clash and I was surprised: when they played one of my tracks, the reaction of the crowd was incredible! I've moved away a bit from sound systems and all that. Today I'm more of a studio artist, I like recording, I'm really into it and I record a lot of music for a lot of people all over the world.
Do you have a band in New York to back you?
Yes, indeed, I have a band, but it's been a long time since I worked with them. Why? Simply because I don't work much in New York; I work much more on the West Coast, San Diego in California for example.
Your song Rumours came back out in the 90s with Shabba Ranks on the Brickwall label. Did you record it again or is it an edit?
No, I really re-sang the song. They called me when I was in the countryside, because I live in the countryside in Maryland. I went up to New York and recorded it.
And it was a second hit with the same song.
I'd go even further: it relaunched my career. That's for sure. I had stayed out of music for 13 years, I had a daughter and all I said was: "Let me raise my daughter." When she turned 13, I had the opportunity to relaunch myself, and since then I've kept on climbing, climbing.
Do you have a favourite song in your repertoire?
No, I love all my songs, and when my day comes, I hope people will keep them in their memory. But there is still one song that is really close to my heart. We were talking about Rumours earlier; I recorded that song because one was missing to finish the album. It's very basic in its composition: from memory, a chorus, a verse, a bridge and then the same verse again. It was a stopgap song! One day, coming back to Jamaica, someone told me that Rumours was being played a lot on Stur Gav. I couldn't believe it, why that song? It's really the people who decided to make it what it is. It was by accepting that choice and making the song my own for dubs, at concerts... that I understood why people liked it so much. Everyone can feel concerned, even more so those who live on an island. Rumours, hearsay, it's something very common in any community.
We've seen 45s of yours reappear; do you control all that?
If there's one thing I handled well, it's publishing: I own the rights to all the songs I've sung. And that goes back to the first time I went to New York. I remember it well, I was watching a programme with Quincy Jones and it clicked: I realised that almost everyone could sing. Everyone wants to be in the spotlight. Me, I don't like spotlights; I'm rather an introvert, a bit of a loner sometimes. I always wondered how to make a living from music, how to make a bit of money from all this. And publishing is one of those ways, a way that many people didn't know about at the time. So I set up my publishing company in 1983 and even though there are people in charge of administering my catalogue, all my songs are the property of my company. Nobody else owns what I've sung. So when you see reissues of mine, it's authorised, they have the right to do it. I don't really have to worry about it.
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