Born on January 12 1931, and died November 27 1998, after performing
on stage with the Skatalites. Unlike most of his musical contemporaries
Roland Alphonso attended the Stony Hill Industrial School in Kingston, where he
was taught trumpet in music classes. He switched to the saxophone at around
age 15. His early professional engagements were with the Colony Club Orchestra,
lead by band leader Eric Deans. He later formed his own band called the
Upsetters and the Alley Cats.
Roland Alphonso was one of the founding members of
the most well known Ska band in history, The Skatalites, a fact, that on
it's own makes him a Demigod, yet prior to, and after the Skatalites disbanded,
he made an untold amount of beautiful music. This early track by
Roland Alphonso,
also known as 'Rolando', Rollie Pollie' and 'Roland Al', was produced by
Robinson, and issued in Great Britain on the newly launched Island label,
number 005.