Joseph Vere Everette Johns (28 November 1893–10 September 1966"Vere Johns, journalist, dies at 73"
''Kingston Gleaner'', 11 September 1966, pp. 1–2. ) was a Jamaican journalist, impresario, radio personality, and actor, who helped to launch the careers of many Jamaican musicians through his popular talent contests.

Biography

Johns was born in Mandeville in 1893, and after working for the Post Office, served in the South Lancashire Regiment in World War I before finding success as a newspaper columnist in the United States in the 1920s.Hill, Robert A. (1992), ''Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers: November 1927-August 1940 v. 7'', University of California Press, , p. 540. While in the US he divorced his first wife and married his second, actress Lillian May, known as "Lady Luck". He began running talent contests while in the US, and continued on his return to Jamaica in 1939. In the late 1940s he began a long-running "Vere Johns Says" column in the ''Jamaica Star'' newspaper, often on the topic of music. He made a major contribution to Jamaican music with his "Vere John's Opportunity Knocks Talent Show" on RJR Radio and helped launch the careers of several major recording artists including

Lloyd Charmers Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, also known as Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)Ruddock, George (2012), ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012 was a Jamaican ska and reggae s ...

, Hortense Ellis, John Holt,

Bob Andy Keith Anderson CD (28 October 1944 – 27 March 2020), better known by the stage name Bob Andy, was a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He was widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters. Early life Anderson was bor ...

, Desmond Dekker, The Wailers,

Alton Ellis Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008)Godfather ...

, Jackie Edwards, Dobby Dobson, Boris Gardiner,

Laurel Aitken Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken (22 April 1927 – 17 July 2005) was an influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska". Career Born in Cuba of mixed Cuban and Jamaican desc ...

, and Millie Small.Larkin, Colin (1998), ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , pp. 54, 94, 124, 256.Bradley, Lloyd (2000), ''This is Reggae Music'', Grove Press, , pp. 19-21.Millie not so 'small' anymore
", ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 15 October 2006, retrieved 2010-05-03 His talent contests began as theatre shows held in downtown

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

venues such as The Majestic, Palace and Ambassador theatres,O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998), ''Reggae Routes'', Temple University Press, , p. 31. with the winners judged by audience reaction, and going on to appear on his radio shows. Producers such as Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and

Arthur "Duke" Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

scouted for talent at the shows, taking singers to record at Stanley Motta's studio to cut records to be played on their

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

.Cooke, Mel (2010),
Lincoln traces Ambassador music role to England
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 2 March 2010, retrieved 2010-05-03.

Lloyd Bradley Lloyd Bradley (born 21 January 1955) is a British music journalist and author. Biography Born in London to recent immigrants from St Kitts, Bradley discovered Jamaican music during his teenage years, while going out in the North London-based s ...

, in his book ''This is Reggae Music'', described Johns as "the most influential man in Jamaican music in the second half of the 1950s", a period in which indigenous Jamaican styles were coming to the fore. Johns, despite his antipathy towards Jamaica's Rastafarians, also provided exposure for Count Ossie's group of drummers after singer

Marguerita Mahfood Anita "Margarita" Mahfood (died 31 December 1965) was a dancer, actress, and singer in Jamaica. She was called "the famous Rhumba queen" and headlined performances. She also performed reggae music, writing and singing her own music, one of the firs ...

refused to appear on his show unless she was backed by Ossie's Mystic Revelation group; The group proved popular with the audience and went on to perform regularly in Kingston.Thomas, Polly & Vaitilingam, Adam (2003), ''The Rough Guide to Jamaica'', Rough Guides, , p. 412. Johns also worked as an actor, performing in Shakespeare plays and solo recitations, and taught acting. Vere Johns died in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

on 10 September 1966.

Honors

* Military Medal, November 1917 * British War Medal"Vere Johns gets military burial"
''Kingston Gleaner'', 16 September 1966, p. 4. * Victory Medal * Member of the Order of the British Empire, June 1953 * Seprod Award, 1964 and 1965 In 2008, Johns was posthumously inducted into the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) Hall of Fame.Cooke, Mel (2008),
JAVAA opens Jamaica Music Hall of Fame"
, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 16 November 2008, retrieved 2010-05-03. In 2012, former Minister of Culture

Olivia Grange Olivia "Babsy" Grange , DSE (born 27 April 1946) is a Jamaican politician. She has served as Member of Parliament for Saint Catherine Central since 1997 and as Jamaica's Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture for the duration of the Jamaica La ...

called for Johns to receive a posthumous honour in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican popular music.Walters, Basil (2012)
Vere Johns, forgotten man of Jamaican music: Opportunity lost"
''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 4 November 2012, retrieved 10 November 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Vere Reggae journalists Jamaican radio presenters Jamaican women radio presenters Jamaican journalists Jamaican women journalists Recipients of the Military Medal Members of the Order of the British Empire 1893 births 1966 deaths People from Mandeville, Jamaica Jamaican expatriates in the United States