Count Matchuki | |
|---|---|
| Born | Winston Cooper c. 1929 |
| Died | 1995 |
| Genres | Ska |
| Occupation | Deejay |
| Years active | 1950s–1960s |
Winston Cooper (c. 1929–1995), better known asCount Matchuki orCount Machuki, was aJamaicandeejay.
Cooper was bornc. 1929[1] inKingston, Jamaica,[2] and began working onsound systems in the 1950s, when the music played was largely AmericanR&B. His stage name of Count Matchuki derived from his habit of chewing matchsticks.[3] He initially worked on Tom Wong'sTom the Great Sebastian system and later theTokyo the Monarch system, before moving on toClement "Coxsone" Dodd'sDownbeat Sound System.[4][5] He added talkovers to the songs, emulating thejive talk of American radioDJ's at the request of Dodd, who became familiar with the US style on his visits to the States to buy records to play on his sound system.[3] He thus originated adeejay style that was later developed by artists such asU-Roy.[6] Matchuki started by adding spoken introductions to the records that were played, taking inspiration from the American magazineJive.[5] In the late 1950s, the prevailing sound changed with the advent ofska, and Matchuki added his deejay skills (often uncredited) to several records byThe Skatalites.[3] He introducedKing Stitt to Dodd's sound system, and Stitt took over as lead deejay when Matchuki left to joinPrince Buster'sVoice of the People system. In the late 1960s, with little financial reward or recognition for his work, he left the music industry. He appeared in theDeep Roots Music documentary in the late 1970s along withSir Lord Comic.[3]
U-Roy has cited Matchuki as a major influence on his work.[5] He said of Matchuki, "Count Matchukie, well he was a man I used to love to listen to. Whenever you been listening to this man, it was like you never hear anybody like that before. This man phrases his words in time, he doesn't crowd the music when he's talking. You can always hear what the vocalist got to sing. I used to say, I'd like to be like this man."[7]
Winston "Count Matchuki" Cooper died in 1995.[3] He is survived by his daughter Carla Cooper.[8]
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