Steelpan Pioneers- The Echo's of Spree

 

Winston “Spree” Simon: The Pioneer Who Shaped Steelpan’s Melody

Introduction

In the tapestry of Trinidad & Tobago’s musical history, few figures loom as large or as quietly transformative as Winston “Spree” Simon. He is widely recognized as one of the earliest innovators to transform percussion into melody, turning discarded tins and oil drums into what would become the modern steelpan. Simon is more than a historical footnote; he is the father of the melody pan, the person who saw musical potential in metal where others saw only refuse.

As the very first subject in our “Steelpan Pioneers” series, Simon’s story illuminates the origins of an instrument that would go on to shape the cultural identity of Trinidad & Tobago and influence music worldwide. His life is a narrative of creativity, resilience, and innovation, set against a backdrop of poverty, community struggle, and social marginalization.

Early Life & Context: Growing Up in Laventille and John John

Winston “Spree” Simon was born in 1930, the youngest of six children, four boys and two girls in the impoverished district of Rose Hill, East Dry River, Port-of-Spain. While his older brothers went out to work at a tender age, the family’s fortunes continued to decline, eventually prompting a move to John John, a neighbourhood marked by deprivation and hardship.

Simon later reflected on his experiences there:

“...the depressed, frustrated, under-privileged and poor people sweat out their drab and dull existence...”

He learned first-hand the toil, persecution, humiliation, and dishonour that came with being connected to steel bands in those early days:

“...the persecution, humiliation and dishonour that was the price for anyone connected with the steelband, more so for the early pioneers.”

Police harassment was common. Young pannists were beaten, arrested, and jailed, often suffering silently and innocently. Yet despite these dangers, John John would become the cradle of a momentous occurrence in 20th-century music history. It was here that Simon would encounter the momentum generated by early masters like Andrew Beddoe, the Orisha drummer and slap-bass virtuoso, witnessing the birth of steelpan as a glorious musical invention.

Early Musical Influence: Learning from the Pioneers

Once settled in John John, young Simon immediately immersed himself in a percussion band. Following in the footsteps of an older brother who played in the John John band, he became the band’s “third best kettle drummer,” absorbing skills from seasoned performers:

“One of the all-time greats in the art of folk drumming... Andrew Beddoe... Ralph Charles (‘Fairy’), Harold Vespree (‘Bongo Toughy’), Neville Chamberlain (who introduced the bugle), and a host of others. These were my teachers, and good teachers they were, the best I could afford.”

The kettle drum Simon played began its life as discarded “garbage” from nearby small industries; biscuit factories, tanneries, candle makers, and the railway yard. Youths in John John discovered that these discarded metal objects could produce sound, forming the foundation for their street sessions known locally as liming, picong, and fatigue - accompanied by clapping, foot-stomping, and rhythmic knocking on anything that produced a tone.

It was in these sessions that Simon first discerned that different tins produced different sounds. This realization marked the birth of his experimental approach, in which he learned the joy of creating music out of nothing, finding excitement even amidst hardship and danger.

The Invention Journey: From Kettle Drum to Melodic Pan

Simon’s breakthrough came in the early 1940s during a street parade in John John. He lent his special light metal kettle drum to a friend, who returned it badly beaten, the concave surface distorted. Simon began pounding the inside with a stone, then a piece of wood, and to his astonishment discovered:

“I was able to get distinctly separate musical notes. Thereupon, I was able to knock four notes out. I turned my knowledge over to the other members of the band - and pan was born!”

From this humble, one-note drum, Simon’s experimentation evolved rapidly. By 1943, he had created an eight-note “ping-pong” pan, and by 1946, he had refined a 14-note instrument capable of playing melody and harmony. These developments transformed the steelpan from percussive novelty to melodic instrument, setting the stage for the orchestral steel bands we know today.

Key Moments: Concerts, TASPO, and Band Leadership

1946 Solo Concert
In March 1946, Simon performed solo on his 14-note pan at a public Carnival event. Dignitaries including: Governor Sir Bede Clifford, Lady Clifford, calypsonian Lord Kitchener, social reformer Audrey Jeffers, and other dignitaries. He played a remarkable set: from calypsos to hymns to classical pieces; including Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” Lord Kitchener’s “Tie‑Tongue Mopsy,” and the British anthem “God Save the King.”  This event was pivotal in legitimizing the steelpan as a serious musical instrument, not merely street percussion.

TASPO & International Exposure

In 1951, Simon was among the select pannists chosen to join TASPO (Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra). TASPO travelled to Great Britain for the Festival of Britain; an opportunity to introduce steelpan to the world. Their participation helped raise the global profile of pan, showcasing its melodic potential on an international stage.

Steelband Leadership
Beyond TASPO, Simon was deeply involved in several local steelbands. Early in his career, he led or co-led bands such as Tropical Harmony, the Fascinators, and a band then called Destination Tokyo (later Carib Tokyo). His leadership was not only in playing but also in shaping the sound and direction of these groups. He shared freely what he had discovered, fostering community and mentorship around him.

Legacy & Influence:

Despite the controversies, he faced Winston “Spree” Simon’s influence is profound and enduring.

• Mentorship and Inspiration: He worked closely with later pioneers. Anthony Williams, who developed advanced soprano pans, is said to have been influenced by Simon. Similarly, Bertie Marshall, the tuning visionary who introduced harmonic tuning, learned from Simon’s experiments and absorbed his ethos.
• Cultural Immortality: His life and work were immortalized in calypso. Lord Kitchener composed a tribute to him, and other artists remembered him in song.
• Commemoration: There's a monument to Simon in John John, a physical reminder of his legacy in the community that shaped him.
• Symbol of Resilience and Creativity: For many in Laventille and beyond, Simon symbolizes how ingenuity can emerge from struggle, how an artist can transform what is discarded into something sacred and melodic.

Reflection: Why Winston Simon’s Story Matters Today

Winston “Spree” Simon’s journey holds lessons that resonate strongly in the present:

1. Innovation from Marginality: He didn’t come from privilege, but he enabled a major musical revolution from the margins. For communities that feel unheard or under-resourced, Simon’s story is a powerful model: creativity is possible, even in adversity.
2. Listening to the Ordinary: He heard melody in a battered tin drum. That ability to listen deeply - to find potential where others saw mere refuse - is a reminder that innovation often begins with observation and empathy.
3. Community Roots: While he’s celebrated as an individual, Simon’s progress was inseparable from his community: the young street musicians, the carnival bands, the mentorship networks. Real transformation often grows from collaboration, not lone genius.
4. Legacy Beyond Fame: Simon passed away in 1976, after suffering a stroke in the 1970s. He did not leave behind vast wealth or global fame, but his mark on music is permanent. His life teaches that impact is not always about awards or fame - sometimes, it’s about changing how people hear.
5. Inspiration for New Generations: For young musicians, especially in Trinidad & Tobago, Simon’s journey is a reminder of what’s possible. His curiosity, his persistence, and his willingness to experiment encourage a new generation to innovate, to try, to fail, and to build.

 

Legacy- Honouring the Past • Embracing the Present • Welcoming the Future of the Steelpan

 

Honouring the Past • Embracing the Present • Welcoming the Future of the Steelpan

Introduction - A people’s instrument

The steelpan is both an instrument and an archive: every hammer mark keeps a story; every tuned note carries memory. Born from African musical traditions and forged through colonial repression, the pan is the single most powerful musical symbol to emerge from Trinidad and Tobago. To call the steelpan “Ours to Love, Ours to Cherish” asks us to honour a creative lineage - from the earliest drummers, through tamboo-bamboo, to the oil-drum innovators, to the organised movement represented by NATTS and Pan Trinbago, and finally to the global reach of the instrument today.

1. From African drumming to colonial bans - The pre-history of the steelpan

The percussion traditions carried to Trinidad by enslaved Africans formed the foundation of Carnival culture: polyrhythmic drumming, call-and-response singing, and communal ritual. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries colonial authorities increasingly suppressed these practices. The policing and legal restrictions around Canboulay and public drumming created an environment in which musicians improvised safer, portable instruments and adapted their practice to survive. These pressures produced cultural ingenuity rather than erasure - a crucial fact in understanding how the steelpan began.

2. Tamboo-bamboo - Invention through necessity

When drums were targeted by bans, communities reconfigured their sound world. Tamboo-bamboo bands; made of lengths of bamboo struck in sections (boom, foule, cutter) and accompanied by shakers and improvised percussion - became Carnival’s dominant ensemble in the early 1900s. Tamboo-bamboo preserved African rhythmic complexity while presenting an instrument that was less easily policed. Yet even tamboo-bamboo faced regulation; creative musicians began adding metal objects (hubcaps, lids, tins) both for tonal contrast and because metal carried further in the streets.

3. Metal experiments and the birth of pitch (1930s-1940s)

The transition from rhythm to melody happened incrementally. By the late 1930s and into the 1940s, metal objects that initially provided accents began to be tuned. Players discovered that dents and hammered spots produced distinct pitches. Early melodic experiments (the proto-‘ping-pong’ or tenor pans) emerged from this tinkering. The breakthrough came when the 55-gallon oil drum was adopted - its large surface could be ‘sunk’ and sculpted into separate tone areas. Techniques such as sinking, tempering, and harmonic tuning matured in yards across Laventille, East Dry River, and other working-class neighbourhoods between about 1946 and 1948, giving rise to families of pans (tenor, double tenor, guitar, cello/bass) and a reliable method of construction.

4. TASPO - Steelpan’s first global audience and its membership

The Trinidad All-Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) was assembled to represent Trinidad at the 1951 Festival of Britain. This was not a casual trip: it was the steelpan’s first coordinated presentation to international audiences and an affirmation that pan had become an instrument of civic pride and cultural diplomacy.

Key members of TASPO included many of the pioneers you asked for. The commonly cited roster features:

• Lieut. Joseph Nathaniel Griffith - conductor (born Barbados)
• Elliot “Ellie” Mannette - Invaders (pioneer tuner and pan builder)
• Winston “Spree” Simon - (Tokyo/Fascinators; early melodic pan innovator)
• Anthony “Tony” Williams - North Stars (spider-web layout inventor; arranger)
• Sterling Betancourt - Crossfire (remained in the UK after the tour)
• Andrew “Pan” de la Bastide - (Chicago/Hill 60)
• Cecil “Coye” Forde - Invaders
• Orman “Patsy” Haynes - Casablanca
• Carlton “Sonny” Roach - Sun Valley (fell ill and missed part of the tour)
• Philmore “Boots” Davidson - City Syncopators
• Dudley Smith, Granville Sealey, Theophilus “Black James” Stephens and others

TASPO not only took pan abroad - it catalysed refinement of instrument design (Ellie Mannette and Anthony Williams prepared more reliable instruments for performance) and helped create durable international networks that would lead to pan teaching and ensembles across the UK, Europe and North America.

5. Organisation, representation and NATTS - The movement becomes formal

The steelband movement did not remain entirely grassroots. From the 1950s onward, bands and leaders organised formally to protect members’ rights, negotiate with authorities and standardise practice. One of the earliest umbrella bodies was the National Association of Trinidad and Tobago Steelbandsmen (NATTS) - formed in the mid-20th century to represent steelbands’ interests. Historical records show Sydney Gollop serving as a head figure in the early NATTS era; other notable early figures associated with NATTS include George “Sonny” Goddard and Oscar Pile.

NATTS performed vital work in coordinating bands, advocating for recognition, and laying structural groundwork. That foundation would soon morph into a broader organisation better equipped for the pan movement’s growing complexity and international profile.

6. Pan Trinbago - the national body, its role and presidents

In 1971 the steelband movement reorganised under Pan Trinbago (formally established that year), which became the recognised parent body for steelbands in Trinidad & Tobago. Pan Trinbago continues to be the primary organisation for representing the movement’s interests domestically and internationally, lobbying for funding, organising events, and managing national programmes such as the pan-in-school initiatives.

A few major Pan Trinbago figures and presidents worth noting:

Pan Trinbago (and predecessor national bodies) - Presidents

• Pan Trinbago was formed in 1971; its predecessor bodies (Steelband Association / NATTS) were active from 1950.

• 1950s - Organising the movement (Steelband Association / NATTS predecessors)

  1. Sydney (Sidney) Gollop (Gallop) ; c.1950 - 1956 (Provisional President / early Steelband Association / NATTS predecessor). Sources cite Gollop as one of the founding organisers and provisional presidents in 1950. 
  2. Nathaniel “Natty” Crichlow ; c.1956 - 1957 (served as president of the steelband association in the mid-1950s; later noted nationally as a trade-union and civic leader). 
  3. George “Sonny” Goddard ; first elected 1957 -1959 (and served multiple terms through the 1960s); Goddard is repeatedly recorded as a central leader and re-elected across the 1960s (he is the major figure bridging NATTS → Pan Trinbago). 
  4. Albert Jones ; c.1959 - 1960 (documented as serving around 1959–1960). 
  5. Junior (Edgar) Pouchet ; c.1960 - 1961 (documented in period reporting as holding the presidency/leadership role).
  6. Cecil Hunte ; c.1961 -1962 (appears in period lists of successive presidents in early 1960s).
  7. 
     

  Transition era → Pan Trinbago formation (late 1960s - 1970s)

  7. George “Sonny” Goddard - c.1962 - 1971 (continued leadership and one of the architects who bridged the earlier associations into the national body). 
  8. Alwin (Aldwyn / Alwyn) Chow Lin On - c.1971 - 1971 is listed as a president right before the 1971 formation of Pan Trinbago; sometimes spelled Alwin / Aldwyn Chow Lin On). 
  9. Roy Augustus - c.1972 - 1974 (documented as Pan Trinbago first president under the new name in the early 1970s; later served as a senator and remained active in pan leadership circles). 
  10. Bertie Fraser - c.1974 - 1975 (documented as a former Pan Trinbago president, serving in the mid-1970s). 
  11. Melville Bryan - c.1976 - 1978 ( Elected President in 1976) 
  12. George “Sonny” Goddard - c.1978 - 1979 (elected President of Pan Trinbago again  before his resignation on July 5, 1979). 
  13. Arnim Smith - (late 1970s - 1980s; multiple stints / influence) - Arnim Smith appears as a major Pan Trinbago leader in the 1970s–1980s; some sources show he served as president, resigned, and was re-elected at times.  In August of 1987 Pan Trinbago received the Trinity Cross and was formally incorporated by an Act  of Parliament 1986.

  1980s - 1990s

  12. Owen Serrette ; 1988 - 1996 (well-documented: Serrette served as Pan Trinbago president from 1988 to 1996; earlier he served as Education Officer 1982–1988 and is credited with institutionalising programmes and international chapters)
  13. Patrick (Louis) Arnold ; 1996 - 2009 (a long-serving president credited with structural and programme development; multiple sources record Arnold’s extended tenure across three terms). Patrick Arnold introduced payments to players in 1998. it was under his tenure that Pan in the 21st Century started but not as a competition. In 2004 he introduced the different categories (small, medium and large under the advice of Ray Holman and the Panorama tune was reduced from 10 minutes to 8 minutes. 

  2009 – present

  14. Keith Diaz ; 2009 - 2018 (elected after Patrick Arnold; served roughly 2009–2018). 
  15. Beverley Ramsey-Moore ; 2018 - present  - Elected October 2018; widely reported as Pan Trinbago’s 17th and 18th President and the organisation’s first female president. (Pan Trinbago got the United Nations proclamation of August 11th as World Steelpan Day and the Steelpan officially declared the National Instrument of Trinidad and Tobago under her tenure. Pan Trinbago launched the Social Prosperity Fund in 2020 and the Single Pan Band category was started in 2019). 

These leaders, along with many board members, education officers, and local chapter chairs, helped professionalize the movement, secure official recognition (including an Act of Parliament formalising Pan Trinbago’s status), and build institutional capacity that supports youth programmes, Panorama coordination, and international exchange.

7. Panorama and the culture of excellence

Panorama - established as an organised national competition in 1963 - became the crucible in which arrangements, tuning precision, and ensemble discipline were tested and perfected. Panorama catalysed the rise of master arrangers and tuners whose innovations remain central to the art: names such as Clive Bradley, Jit Samaroo, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Ray Holman and others expanded harmonic language, introduced orchestral voicings, and raised performance standards to a world-class level.

Panorama did more than crown winners each year: it created a public expectation for excellence that drove technical advances in pan construction, expanded training for youth, and deepened the instrument’s role in national identity.

8. The steelpan today - global standing and stewardship

From university ensembles to international festivals, from orchestral collaborations to film scores, pan is now a global instrument. University programs (regional and international), residencies, and exchanges trace their roots to the networks TASPO began and the institutional work Pan Trinbago and earlier bodies like NATTS carried out.

Yet stewardship remains essential: supporting tuners and makers, funding pan-in-school programmes, archiving oral histories, and preserving the stories of the pioneers ensures that the instrument’s origin story; including African drumming, tamboo-bamboo, metal experimentation, NATTS organising and Pan Trinbago leadership, is never overshadowed by commodification or simplification.

Conclusion - our covenant to future generations

To say the steelpan is “Ours to Love, Ours to Cherish” is to promise a living stewardship. Love means learning the stories accurately - including the bans on African drumming, the rise of tamboo-bamboo, the metal experiments of the 1940s, the TASPO tour of 1951 and the institutional work of NATTS and Pan Trinbago. Cherish means funding the people who build, tune, teach and perform. Only in keeping both memory and practice alive can we pass a robust legacy to the generations to come.

Compact Timeline (sidebar)

1. Late 1800s (1880s) - Drumming bans and Canboulay repression prompt musical innovation.
2. Early–mid 1900s - Tamboo-bamboo becomes Carnival’s principal percussion ensemble.
3. 1930s–1940s - Metal accents introduced; pitch experimentation begins.
4. c.1946–1948 - Oil-drums adopted; sinking and tuning techniques refined.
5. 1951 - TASPO tours the Festival of Britain -  pan’s first major international exposure; roster includes Ellie Mannette, Winston “Spree” Simon, Anthony Williams, Sterling Betancourt, and others.
6. 1950s–1960s - NATTS forms and early organisational leadership (Sydney Gollop, George Goddard) centralise band advocacy.
7. 1963 - First official Panorama competition - national institutionalization.
8. 1971 - Pan Trinbago established as the parent body (formalised later by Act of Parliament); major presidents include George “Sonny” Goddard, Arnim Smith (1979–1988), Patrick Arnold (1996–2009), Beverley Ramsey-Moore (current). 

1) Footnotes - Full Clickable Citations

1. Colonial bans on drumming, Canboulay repression — Smithsonian and historical treatments of Caribbean Carnival and drumming restrictions. (mtca.gov.tt)
2. Tamboo-bamboo history and role in Carnival. (mtca.gov.tt)
3. Metal experimentation and oil-drum tuning (1930s–1940s) — oral histories and pan histories. (seetobago.org)
4. TASPO roster and 1951 Festival of Britain details (Wikipedia / historical pages). (Wikipedia)
5. TASPO members and commentary — Trinidad Guardian and pan history resources. (guardian.co.tt)
6. Ell ie Mannette and Anthony Williams instrument innovations and international work. (Facebook)
7. NATTS history and early leadership (Sydney Gollop, George Goddard referenced). (pantrinbago.co.tt)
8. Pan Trinbago formation, roles and presidents (Pan Trinbago official site; university archives; news items on Owen Serrette and Patrick Arnold). (pantrinbago.co.tt)
9. NALIS – National Library and Information System Authority — Historical development of the steelband and colonial drumming bans. (nalis.gov.tt)
10. World Steelpan Day Brief (Ministry of Tourism, Culture & the Arts, T&T) — on tamboo‑bamboo history and origins.
11. York University thesis: “Pan, still on the move: an exploratory study of the steelpan’s …” — detailed research on metal experimentation, early pans, and organizational formation. (yorkspace.library.yorku.ca)
12. PanOnTheNet — “Remembering Joseph Nathaniel Griffith and TASPO” (history of TASPO, its formation, and members). (When Steel Talks/PanOnTheNet)
13. Wikipedia article on Trinidad All‑Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) — listing key members from the 1951 tour. (Wikipedia)
14. PanOnTheNet’s biographical notes and historical resource on early pan pioneers (e.g., Mannette, Williams) and their techniques. (When Steel Talks/PanOnTheNet)
15. PanOnTheNet — profile on George “Sonny” Goddard and his role as NATTS and Pan Trinbago leader (his repeated presidency). (When Steel Talks/PanOnTheNet)
16. Pan Trinbago Inc – About page, describing its incorporation, structure, aims, and first formation. (ipv4.pantrinbago.co.tt)