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By Will Johnson
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Through several photographs I would like to bring the remarkable story of the Saba string band popularly known as "The Occasionals".
It all started with the love of playing the banjo of Wilbourne Carlyle Granger. He grew up in Windwardside with his older brother the late Herman Hassell the Canton Judge and owner of a grocery store. Those grocery stores where also liquor was sold were popularly known throughout the West Indies as "Rum shops".
Carlyle and my brother Freddie were bosom buddies all their lives. Freddie became a teacher and was called by one and all "Meneer". Carlyle told us once at Scout's Place that if he saw Freddie in a fight he would jump in and start throwing blows and ask afterwards who had started the fight. We had a good laugh and I said to him "But Freddie can be a good sin maker you know." "Doesn't matter," said Carlyle, "I would have to help him." Their relationship was something like that of the United States and Israel from the sound of it.
Anyway Carlyle learned to play the banjo early on and was a master at it. He was later joined by the late Sylvester Hughes another of his bosom buddies, as well as Roland Calvin Holm. Sylvester was the maracas man and Calvin played the banjo. Roy Smith the guitar man was also part of the band from early on. Godfred Hassell can also be seen playing as a young man in the band leading the masquerade party, and Maurits Hassell was playing the maracas. Calvin and Sylvester were in the masquerade party as well as the brothers Eric Alexis and his brother Rudolph Johnson. Eric is the lead singer and Dolphie always played the Marimba from Santo Domingo.
Eventually the band settled down with the leader Carlyle Granger, Calvin Holm, Sylvester Hughes, and Eric and Dolphie Johnson later to be joined by Roy Smith. This was the composition of the band all the way through the nineties. They had started playing together in the late 1950's.
Click on an image for a larger version.
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