Goombay is a form of

Bahamian music The music of the Bahamas is associated primarily with Junkanoo, a celebration which occurs on Boxing Day and again on New Year's Day. Parades and other celebrations mark the ceremony. Groups like The Baha Men, Ronnie Butler and Kirkland Bodie ...

and a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

used to create it. The drum is a

membranophone A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification. ...

made with goat skin and played with the hands. The term Goombay has also symbolized an event in the Bahamas, for a summer festival with short parades known as ‘Junkanoo’. The goombay name has also evolved to become synonymous with local Afro-Caribbean music related to calypso. In The Bahamas, its most famous practitioner in modern times was Alphonso 'Blind Blake' Higgs, who performed at the

Nassau International Airport Lynden Pindling International Airport , formerly known as Nassau International Airport, is the largest airport in the Bahamas and the largest international gateway into the country. It is a major hub for Bahamasair, Western Air, and Pineapple ...

for many years. The

Goombay Dance Band Goombay Dance Band is a German band created in 1979 by Oliver Bendt, named after a small bay on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Their music has a distinctive sound (somewhat similar to Boney M.), which is a mixture of soca, calypso and west ...

help to popularise the musical style in the West in the early 1980s. Their single, "

Seven Tears ''Seven Tears'' is an album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released in 1971. The album was not issued in the U.S. Track listing All songs written by Kooymans except where noted. #"Silver Ships" - 5:40 #"The Road Swallowed Her Name" - 4:0 ...

", reached number one in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1982.

Discography

''Bahamas Goombay 1951 - 1959'' (Frémeaux et Associés FA5302, 2011)

References and notes

{{music-genre-stub Bahamian music Bahamian musical instruments Membranophones

Discography

See also

References and notes