Jah Jerry Haynes

Who was Jah Jerry Haynes?

Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes OD was a Jamaican guitarist and former member of The Skatalites.

Haynes was born in Trench Pen, presently known as Trench Town, the cultural capital of Jamaica, in 1921. He learned to play guitar from early years by his father and then by Ernest Ranglin. In 1949 he played with Jocelyn Trott Orchestra in Montego Bay.

This prepared him for his sojourn into organized playing when he hit the hotel circuit playing with the Jocelyn Trott Orchestra in Montego Bay, in 1949. In mid-1950s he freelanced with several other bands until he joined the Arkland "Drumbago" Park Studio Band. His upward "stumming" of the guitar became the signature style in the Boogie Shuffle/Ska

In 1959 Haynes worked with Prince Buster and played guitar in many sessions. In 1961, he was contracted exclusively to Coxsone Dodd, though he played for other producers, such as Duke Reid, King Edwards the Giant and Lyndon Pottinger. In 1964 he was one of The Skatalites founders and played with them until 1965. He was featured on Rico Rodriguez' That Man Is Forward album. Two years later, he joined the reformed Skatalites at the Reggae Sunsplash festival.