King Stitt
The Ugly One, apparently born Winston Spark, never let his seriously disfigured facial features inhibit his progress in the highly competitive Kingston music world. By 1969 he was the regular DJ for Coxsone Dodd's Number One Set. His success paved the way for U-Roy, I Roy and Big Youth but, unfortunately, their new style and approach soon superseded Stitt. His style was firmly rooted in the older tradition of Jamaican DJing influenced by American radio DJs—shouted introductions and interjections as opposed to ‘riding the rhythm’ and filling out the entire length of the record. Stitt's contributions were fragmentary and explosive as hit followed hit for Clancy Eccles in the early '70s—Herbman, Fire Corner, The Ugly One and, possibly the most interesting of all, Dance Beat where Clancy and Stitt reminisce about the old ska days, the dances and the dancehalls. Sadly, there is no album of strictly King Stitt material, although FIRE CORNER credited to the Dynamites (Clancy's Studio band) has a fairly representative cross-section of his work. His few recordings at Studio One failed to match the quality of his Clancy's output, but he has continued to work there in a non-recording capacity.