Nassau, Bahamas - Delivered at Berkley Vanbyrd Morris funeral October 30th, 2012 - It was ‘At Midnight’ last night when I sat and listened to the song ‘Born To Boogie…. After I’ve taken a long time to sit and actually attempt to focus to write the tribute to my friend Berks.

Born To Boogie is possibly the first song that I’ve taken notice to the energy and range of Berk’s vocal range but most importantly the laugh that he had at the end of the song and the ‘I Love It’ always made me smile even before I met Berks in person.

I was a banker for a few years before I became a full time musician and a part of my salary budget every month was to purchase some albums. Although I knew of the T Connections from my days in High School and freaking out over Kirk’s Bass on the end of Country Road, I knew I was a T Connection fan, but I was officially a fan after I heard the laugh on end of ‘Born To Boogie’.

That laugh said a lot to me… It spoke of a person who sounded ‘happy go lucky’ but as a wannabe musician… it expressed the feeling a person got when they were pleased with the end product of their effort.

I Have No idea where I first met Berks for the first time. It either can be because I’m now getting old and the memory mussy fading, or the meeting was during a time when I was living ‘happy go lucky’. However, I think that as a member of High Voltage, Berkley might have shown up somewhere where we were working and the connection was made.

I know for sure, the laugh that connected me to T Connection, was the same laugh he had when I met him and that sealed our friendship.

Berks and I had lots and lots of conversations, whenever we met or whenever he felt the need to call me to offer encouragement, about the plight of musicians and music in today’s Bahamas. Berks was never afraid to let his position known regarding situations that affected him or other musicians. Just ask anyone who came to the monthly Musicians’ Union meetings and there are times when you’d hear an audible sigh from some members when Berks said ‘Mr. President’……. Because they knew he was gonna make a drawn out point about something that troubled him….. but he got his point across and sometimes accentuated it with his trademark laugh.

Berks, was a phenomenal drummer, but I met him when he left the T Connection and he only played drums minimally but was known to be an energetic, lively out front singer and entertainer.

I remember Herschel Small and myself marveling over the vocal range Berks possessed. He never sang anything falsetto and reached the highest notes possible… with the raspiness that was traditionally Berks. He even sang ballads the same strong way.

Berkley Vanbyrd backstage at his last live performance with T - Connection at Club Amnesia on Grand Bahama Island

The last time I saw Berks alive, I sat in his hospital room and spoke to him in length about the challenges of our industry… and even in his weakened state… he still had the same tenacity and was sure that he was going to be released and he was going to join me in doing some things to improve our industry. He spoke about his days with T Connection and the travels and successes they had. I listened intently and allowed him to talk. He was a proud Bahamian musician.

The last live performance Berks had, my band Tingum Dem had the opportunity to perform with him at the recent Goombay Festival on Long Wharf. Berks obviously was not feeling well, and had to be assisted to the stage and he sat and sang his songs. He was not able to reach the high notes and even when we did ‘At Midnight’ he sat and barely made it through the song.. but in tru tru Berks fashion, he gave it his all.

I was troubled watching him being forced to sit… knowing how much he enjoyed jumping all over the stage but I feel tremendously proud on behalf of my band that we had the opportunity to make him proud of us and after he sang one of his favorite songs.. ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’ he unselfishly ensured that the audience gave us a resounding ovation.

It is a known fact that we in The Bahamas, do not do a good job in recognizing our artists. We do a great job of celebrating and praising them when they can be of service to us, but they are quickly forgotten when they are removed from the limelight either through sickness or eventually in death.

In recent months, we in the entertainment industry have been reminded of our incumbent mortality by the deaths of a number of our entertainers. We are also faced today with the knowledge of the sickness of another number of our popular entertainers.

I’m sure if Berks had his say, he would want his passing to be used to highlight the plight of musicians and I’m sure he would join me in stating that we really, really have to do a better job in allowing our entertainers to live and die with dignity in The Bahamas.

How many of us here today struggle for employment, live vicariously each day without life or health insurance, live paycheck to paycheck yet are expected to work for the elite for little or No compensation, especially when we are in our ‘hey day’ and then you watch them show up at our funerals and present flowery speeches about how great we were and how they danced the night away to our music.

Berks spoke about this with me numerous times and our last phone conversation from his sick bed he reiterated the exact same sentiments.

To emphasize how much we pay little attention to our local superstars and their importance to our society, I was watching the local news on ZNS TV 13 when they announced Berk’s passing. They mentioned ‘popular local musician and member of the group T Connection’ and all of the other things they were able to dig up. Then the reporter added, much to my dismay and anger, ‘he was known for his smooth vocals on songs like ‘Paradise’. This proved that even the reporters and persons in the research department of our local government owned station pay little or NO attention to what our local giants like Berks are doing. But when someone like Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson died, the country almost shut down and everyone was in mourning.

The country should be in mourning for the passing of giants like Berks, the late Duke Hanna, T’rez Hepburn, Tony Mckay, Joseph Spence and others. These are OUR superstars and should be recognized as such.

I don’t think that we have done enough to recognize a group like T Connection for their tremendous success and the way they represented the Bahamas, and I hope that sometime soon we will make it a point to do something special for them… maybe during this 40^th Anniversary of Independence and so that Berks would be recognized posthumously along with his friends for their contributions to the music scene locally and internationally.

It was ‘At Midnight’ when I started writing this tribute…. Not for any other reason but to connect with the memory of Berks while playing the T Connection Songs that made me feel his indomitable energy. T Coakley brought the smoothness to the vocals in the music of the group but Berks brought the necessary, contrasting edge and energy needed to take it over the top ….. just listen to ‘Don’t Stop The Music’.

Whatever his shortcomings were, Berks will be missed by each of us for different reasons. For me he will be missed for his tru tru friendship, his strong stage presence, his unbelievable vocal range, his belief in fighting for right, and above it all his laugh and personality that made me believe that to his very end… he was ‘Born To Boogie’…..

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

About Fred Ferguson:

Although being intrigued and involved with music from childhood, Fred did not become a professional musician until 1982 when he joined a band called High Voltage as a guitarist.

High Voltage performed in many of the top night spots in Nassau, traveled around the world promoting Tourism, and was the backing band for many top artists recordings such as Dr. Offfff, Eddie Minnis, and also did some recordings of their own.

High Voltage also became very popular at a local club called Club Waterloo, where there were eventually discovered and signed by Steve Greenberg to Big Beat Record label which was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. This record deal resulted in the band’s name being changed to Baha Men.

Fred Recorded, Co-Produced, and was the Musical Director for Baha Men thru three of their recording projects, (Junkanoo, Kalik, & Here We Go Again).  He wrote one of the more popular songs ‘Dance To The Junkanoo’ which is still one of the local favorites today.
After facing creative differences with Baha Men, Fred left the group and decided to become a full-time Producer.

He then Produced and wrote for a number of top local Secular and Gospel artists…. Including, K.B., Sweet Emily, Funky D, Nehemiah Hield, Ronnie Butler, Eddie Minnis, Alia Coley, Vision, Sons Of Joy, Geno D, Novie, Spice.

Fred had successes in writing and producing a number of Number 1 Songs and also won a number of Song Competitions held locally.

He was later hired by the Ministry of Tourism to serve as the Entertainment Consultant, which he served for five years.  He was able to implement a number of programs for the improvement of the entertainment industry in The Bahamas.

Throughout his career, he has been a major advocate and proponent for the preservation of the Bahamian Culture.  He has been involved in a number of programs and has taken on the position to preserve the legacy of Joseph Spence and other Bahamian musicians and entertainers.