Seated from left: Fred Ferguson, Tim Rommen, Minister Daniel Johnson, and Ronald Simms. (BIS Photo/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)
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NASSAU The Bahamas – Musician Fred
Ferguson along with Ronald Simms and the late Nat Williams decided that it was
important to preserve the dying art of Rake ‘n’ Scrape; so they identified two
popular groups, namely Bo Hog & The Rooters, and Ophie & The Websites,
and got them into a recording studio.
With the assistance of Tim Rommen,
professor of music and African Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, they
managed to to get the music CD’s accepted by, and added to, the catalogue of
the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
The music can be found on the
Smithsonian’s website http://folkways.si.edu/
accompanied with 24 pages of notes and photos compiled and annotated by Mr. Tim
Rommen with assistance from Fred Ferguson.
“This is a major accomplishment for The
Bahamas for the preservation of our indigenous music, Rake ‘n’ Scrape,” said
Mr. Ferguson.
These compact discs are the closest
thing to the Rake ‘n’ Scrape of yester-year,” said the Hon. Dr. Daniel Johnson
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture during a press conference on Friday,
February 19, 2016 at the Ministry.’
These CD’s “will be worth millions in
about ten years because persons will use them to see how Rake ‘n’ Scrape should
sound,” he said.