The Jamaican mento musician was part of the group’s original lineup and helped carry the tradition into another generation through his son, reggae singer Real VI
Knollis Watson, a founding member of Jamaican mento group Stanley and the Turbines, has died at 84.
Watson died on September 12 while receiving treatment at Kingston Public Hospital, according to his son, reggae singer Real VI. The family member said Watson had been dealing with multiple illnesses before his condition deteriorated.
“He was ailing for some time with multiple illnesses,” Real VI told The Gleaner. He said his father suffered a stroke and experienced high blood pressure during his final hospitalisation.
Watson was part of Stanley and the Turbines, which emerged in Jamaica during the 1970s under the leadership of singer Stanley Beckford. The group became associated with the island’s mento tradition, recording songs including “Brown Gal,” “Come Sing With Me,” “Leave Mi Kisiloo” and “Soldering.”
Mento occupies an important place in Jamaica’s musical history, predating the emergence of ska, rocksteady and reggae. Stanley and the Turbines helped keep that tradition in circulation through their recordings and performances.
Beckford died in 2007 from complications of throat cancer. Watson’s death now marks another loss from the group’s original generation.
For Real VI, however, Watson’s legacy extended beyond his work with the group. He was also a direct influence on his son’s own musical career.
“My father helped to spark the love of music in me and you can hear that in my sounds,” Real VI said, describing Watson as a dedicated father who never abandoned his family.
That relationship became especially significant after Real VI was shot in Seaview Gardens in 2003. The attack damaged his spinal cord and left him paralysed from the waist down. Real VI recalled that his father remained with him throughout his hospitalisation and described watching the experience take a visible toll on Watson.
The account adds a personal dimension to Watson’s musical legacy: his influence was not confined to the recordings he made with Stanley and the Turbines, but continued through the career of his son.
Watson’s passing comes as Jamaica continues to preserve and revisit the contributions of musicians from the island’s earlier musical traditions. His work with Stanley and the Turbines connects him to a period of Jamaican music that helped lay cultural and musical foundations for the genres that followed.
A date for Watson’s thanksgiving service has not yet been announced.
