By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2020 – There are certain important milestones in life that should be routinely celebrated. In The Bahamas, a great deal of importance is placed on celebrating historical and political accomplishments, most notably the Progressive Liberal Party’s historic political victory at the polls on January 10, 1967, which led to the establishment of the first majority rule government in The Bahamas, and the country’s attainment of independence on July 10, 1973.
There are sundry other seemingly “less important” milestones in sports that likewise are celebrated to a lesser degree, but over the years one area that has been virtually totally neglected is the entertainment industry when it comes to venerating an iconic accomplishment that focused the spotlight worldwide on The Bahamas.
I regularly contribute to several groups on Facebook, for different reason, and a recent post by Geneen Evans in the “Bahamian ‘Ole Folks’ Talk & Remember When…” group made it crystal clear that Bahamians generally have forgotten just how remarkable the accomplishment by The Beginning of The End was when that musical group took the “world by storm” in 1970 with their world-wide hit song “Funky Nassau.”
Indeed, how many Bahamians remember that 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the recording of that super hit written by Raphael (Ray) Munnings and Tyrone Fitzgerald and recorded by The Beginning of the End in 1970?
Apparently, Geneen Evans did. In her post, she thanked Ray Munnings and Beginning to the End, noting that Funky Nassau “was and still is one of my favorite songs along with ‘Bahama Rock’ by Ronnie Butler.”
Formed in 1969, The Beginning of the End “consisted of three brothers (Frank, Ray (Raphael) and Roy Munnings), a fourth member on bass (Fred Henfield), and a fifth on guitar (Livingston Colebrook),” according to information gleaned from the Internet. “They released an album entitled Funky Nassau in 1971 on Alston Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records), and the track “Funky Nassau” became a hit single in the U.S., peaking at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #7 on the Billboard R&B chart. The same track reached #31 in the UK Singles.”
It is not too late to give this remarkable group the recognition it fully deserves on the 50th anniversary what is arguably one of the most popular recordings released world-wide by a Bahamian group.
Nominations are currently are currently still open for this year’s Cacique Awards, established by the Ministry of Tourism “to recognize the roles played by those individuals and organizations whose performance or products have consistently made a positive impact on the quality and the growth of tourism in The Bahamas.”
There does not seem to be a current category in which The Beginning of the End can be nominated, but probably the Ministry of Tourism should give consideration adding a new category, as was done several years ago when two new categories were added — The Blue Ribbon Panel Award and the Wilfred “Willie” Love Knowles Tourism Award.
Surely a new category entitled BAHAMIAN LEGENDS OF YESTERYEAR would make a whole lot of sense this year in honouring The Beginning of The End on the 50th anniversary of Funky Nassau, which unquestionably had “a positive impact on the quality and the growth of tourism in The Bahamas” in the early 1970s and has continued to do so every year since then.
