‘Yes Indeed’: Tommy Cowan at 80 - A life in music

To say Tommy Cowan was always drawn to music would be an understatement. Music has shaped his life from his early years and provided the necessary sustenance to sing, tour, manage artistes, and emcee concerts. 

For Cowan, it is a life well lived, well-travelled, and now, dedicated to the glory of God. As he turned 80 early this month, The Sunday Gleaner spoke with ‘Mr Yes Indeed’ about his life, legacy, and his love for music.  

Cowan shared that his entry into the music business started simply enough, having been asked as a teen to join a group of singers. “For me, I was always fond of music and would sing at school events. One evening in 1963, after singing at St Hugh’s High School, these four guys, who were also on the concert, asked me to join their group, the Merricoles. I was about 16 and would consider that to have been a significant beginning,” he recounted.  

 The beginning also included his early involvement in the ska movement. “When we started out around 1963, 1964, we went to Sir Coxone [Dodd’s] Downbeat and met the likes of the Skatalites and a young Jackie Mittoo. We recorded the song Chain Gang Ska. Soon after, in 1967, the rocksteady era took over, and my group, The Jamaicans (formerly the Merricoles), was also a part of that movement.”  

Over the decades, Cowan has managed and produced some iconic individuals and groups that have gone on to leave a permanent mark on Jamaica’s musical landscape, including Junior Tucker, The Inner Circle with Jacob Miller, Zap Pow with Beres Hammond plus Dwight Pinkney, Glen DaCosta, Max Edwards, David Madden, John Holt, Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, Nadine Sutherland, Israel Vibration, Dennis Brown, Papa San, and Dobby Dobson.  

“There is also Peter Tosh, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, Toots & the Maytals, Third World, Ken Lazarus, Stuart Nelson, Dean ‘Youth Sax’ Fraser, Joy White, Keith Lyn, Bunny Wailer, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, Ernie Smith, Eric Donaldson, Fred Locks, Adina Edwards, Black Uhuru, Devon Irons, Ken Boothe, Junior Murvin, Bob Marley & the Wailers, and, of course, my wife – Carlene Davis-Cowan,” he listed. 

He would also work with reggae king Bob Marley. “I ran an organisation called Talent Corporation from 1C Oxford Road from around 1974. Bob (Marley) spoke with me one day when he came by, a bit disgruntled about getting radio play on his songs, and asked me to assist, and so I listened to the songs he was recording at the time, and we decided to release One Drop, and it went to No.1. We then followed with Natty Dread, another No. 1. We then worked together on a show he envisioned called Year of the Rasta Child, where Junior Tucker was so outstanding that the next morning Bob told me that the young kid Tucker had really impressed him. After that, he got shot prior to the Smile Jamaica Concert and went to England,” he shared. 

 Work continued on his Talent Corporation, leading up to the historic One Love Peace Concert. “I still ran Talent Corporation and was doing a series of events at the Epiphany Nightclub when I got a call from Claudie Massop, who told me that Bob was thinking of coming back to Jamaica, and he thought we could do a show with him. The concert was on April [22], 1978, and commemorated the visit of Emperor Haile Selassie to Jamaica,” said Cowan. 

 Following the event where Marley brought Michael Manley and Seaga to the stage, and in a symbolic gesture, the three held up their hands together to signify their unity, Cowan would start a new journey. “Bob asked me to join Tuff Gong as marketing manager, and so I brought my Talent Corporation artistes to Tuff Gong. I have toured some 20-plus European countries with Bob and the Wailers. I even went with him to Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, to organise their independence celebration,” he said. 

 As an emcee back in the ‘80s, Cowan was known as ‘Mr Yes Indeed’ because once on stage, he could always be heard saying the phrase to the point where it is forever associated with him. “I was on tour with Reggae Sunsplash, and one night as I came back onto the bus, the members of Third World were laughing, and Bunny Rugs kept saying ‘Yes, indeed’. So I said, ‘What’s so funny about that? And he said, ‘Tonight, I decided to count how many times you used that phrase, and it was around 21 times.’ At that moment, I realised just how significant it was in my presentation, and so from Africa to Japan to [the] USA, the Caribbean, and, of course, Jamaica, I became known as MC Tommy Cowan – Mr Yes Indeed.”  

For all his many accomplishments over the years, Cowan shared that it was the conceptualisation and production of Fun in the Son that resonated the most for him, as it facilitated the transformation of the lives of over 40,000 people. “To God be the Glory. It’s not my doing. It’s the Lord's.”  

Cowan, who turned 80 on April 6, said that it is a privilege to still be here, celebrating with family and friends. “I was on Beres Hammond’s Love & Harmony Cruise for six days with my wife of over 40 years of togetherness and my daughter Shikisha. Then the Inner Circle Band hosted a party on April 6, and it was an amazing experience. The cruise came back to Miami, and I was met by my children, grandchildren, friends, plus dignitaries of the US and Jamaican governments.”  

When asked what he knows now that he wished he had known as a young man, Cowan said that sometimes you really have to just live it to know and be conscious of life and its many pitfalls and promises. “It‘s knowing that there is purpose in my life and that God has a plan for my life, and when you seek Him first, all will be added to you. And don’t get it wrong that ‘added’ is not about material things.”  

The music industry, he emphasised, has evolved to where there are dozens of radio stations and disc jockeys whose values vary in many ways; therefore, if one criticises the music, it is taken personally. “From my perspective, our music, and that’s speaking of the genre of reggae, which I believe carries a purpose leaning on human rights and justice; it has lost much of that identity based not just on production but on airplay and live events. To young people looking to get into the industry, I would say be sure that’s your calling. Life is one big road with lots of signs. Study the ‘business of music’ as there’s the music, and then there’s the business, and do it with excellence. As the late Winston Blake would say, ‘Things of quality have no fear of time.’”  

Still going strong with a plethora of projects, Cowan stays busy with several upcoming engagements, including the Fun in the Son community engagement pre-Mother’s Day celebration on Saturday, May 9; the International Reggae and World Music Awards, plus the release of two singles with Carlene Davis-Cowan and Ken Boothe. 

nicola.cunningham@gleanerjm.com