And even at age 70, this truly outstanding stalwart is still actively involved in the continued growth of steelpan music.

He presently teaches pan music at the Greycoat Training Centre in Victoria, East Coast Demerara where his services are voluntary.

He is also employed with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in a venture to educate youths in the field at his home in Roxanne Burnham Gardens.

Tourists visiting Guyana over the years have developed a keen interest in his popular steelpan museum and have visited the site for firsthand information and demonstrations on vital aspects of the art form. The reservoir of information also attracts the attention of many schools, youth clubs and other institutions.

Geddes, who has paved the way for the ultimate evolvement and maximum development of the steelpan industry, noted that its continued success depends on the dedication, commitment and cooperation of entities and individuals associated with its existence.

“I have received several accolades for exploits in the field, and I am truly grateful for them, but they did not come without pains or sacrifices.”

It all began in 1934 while he was still in his early teens, growing up in a single parent home at Leopold and Lombard Streets, Werk-en-Rust, in Georgetown.

Around that time he was bombarded with steelpan music since the Chicago and the Casablanca Steelbands were in proximity to his home. He played in both bands for about four years and also was a vibrant force in the Tripolo and Invaders Steel Orchestras during his teenaged years.

His popularity grew as his natural inborn skills and talents were noticed by the music elites as well as persons in the cultural and entertainment fields.

Soon after, he branched off with the National Steelband of Guyana and was selected along with several others to form the National Steel Orchestra in 1962.

This year brought pleasant tidings and the orchestra was selected to play for the Independence Celebrations in Trinidad. The following year their musical versatility took them to Cuba where they toured the many providences, bringing ‘tropical steelpan pleasure’ to hundreds of thousands.

Those were the years of fame and Roy reminisced on “feeling like the celebrity Michael Jackson” when he was asked to sign autographs and pose for photos.

In 1964 he teamed up with Guyanese Freddie Massay (leader of the then Mediators Steel Band) and formed the Silvertones Steel Orchestra.

There was high competition in Guyana back then but it was the Silvertones Steel Orchestra that was selected to play for the Queen Elizabeth II who was visiting Guyana at that time. They were the champions in this field for about a decade and also won two Guyana Music Festivals during their reign.

They did not stop there but moved on to record an LP to raise funds for the University of Guyana in the 1970s, also playing for many charity events and raising funds for churches and schools. Their many concerts in the rural areas can be remembered as events that offered much entertainment for those residing in the ‘countryside’.

Roy’s talent and well earned popularity paid off in 1984 when he was selected to travel to Tanzania and consigned to make steel pans for the Tanzanian National Service.

According to Roy, his affiliation with the Silver Tones Steel Orchestra taught him discipline, patriotism, and a sense of responsibility, while it gave him an opportunity to ‘better his life’.

Although Roy was “going places’, he had his sights set on playing a more instrumental and personal role in the improvement of pan music, which he also saw as a vehicle to change lives.

So in the early 1970s, he established the Roy Geddes Pan School situated in his community to impart musical expertise and a trade to single parent youths and others in the society.

Roy was the recipient of the Medal of Service award in 1971 and the Golden Arrow of Achievement in 1996 for his sterling contributions and excellence as tuner, leader, player and social worker among the youths with whom he was associated.

In 2004 the Pan Podium paid him homage and featured him, while in 2005 he was featured in the magazine ‘Celebrating African Achievements’. GEM Magazine also featured his successes in 2005.

The musical stalwart was pellucid that his successes could not have been possible without the valuable assistance of his wife and Band Secretary, Pamela Geddes, to whom he has been married for 43 years.

In an effort to preserve and further educate on the values of the art form, the Roy Geddes Steelpan Museum was established 12 years ago and to date is the only such institution locally.

The facility is a wonder to behold.

A beautiful array of tropical trees and flower plants line the lush walkway accentuated with steelpan souvenirs and other assortments that send the distinct message of ‘a vivid steelpan haven’ secluded in a quiet and serene location at Geddes’ 190 Roxanne Burnham Gardens, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown home.

The steelpan museum houses a vivid and colourful pictorial display of Roy’s successes even as it showcases the making of steelpans, from raw material to the finished product. There is also an abundance of reading materials, while an array of trophies, medals and souvenirs speak volumes of his successes and contributions to the music discipline in Guyana and abroad.

Commenting on the need for upward mobility and the further development of steelpan music locally, Roy indicated that only those directly involved in this production can ‘bring about an actual change.’

He noted that while the steelpan has advanced technologically, the love is not there for the art form, thus hampering its ultimate success.

Comparing the steelpan music of yesteryear to present day, he pointed out that before time those involved exhibited intense dedication and loyalty and would spend lengthy hours in rehearsing.

According to Roy, those involved with steelpan today are very reluctant to ‘go the extra mile’ and would scarcely attend practice sessions.

He noted that ” the Culture Ministry or Roy Geddes alone cannot do it for the discipline since it is not the money that will make the change but a collective, combined effort of sponsors and ‘panmen’ to take steelpans to a pinnacle of indefinite stardom.”

Roy quite naturally was very excited when the Culture Ministry called on him to help them establish a National Steelband to perform during the Carifesta X celebrations.

However, he indicated that he selected five tuners along with himself to make this a reality, but was not entirely satisfied with the outcome.

According to Roy, tuning of steelpans ‘has gone to another level’ and therefore needs careful and concentrated work of the highest quality.

He opined that there was no coordination in the music supplied at the various Carifesta X events since many put to do the job “were not serious about producing the best sounds from the pans and therefore did not bother with fine tuning.”

He is of the view that “If there is unity among stakeholders, steelpans can become a force to be reckoned with, since no band or band tuner is an island, and needs unity to survive”.

He admits that he is dissatisfied with the present levels of interest in steelpan music locally, noting that there are hardly any proper steelbands around now.

“What we have is five or six men playing in the open air and calling themselves panmen… The discipline that existed long ago that allowed the music genre to flourish is no longer there,” he lamented.

He highlighted that his greatest desire is to see the respectability and commercialization of pan music.

While there is dissatisfaction with many aspects of what currently exists, Roy views himself as successful in bringing about enlightenment and improving the knowledge base and putting Guyana on the map in terms of highlighting expertise in this regard.

Describing success as “a journey rather than a destination”, Roy remains optimistic that steelpan music will be returned to its former glory.

Steelpan instruments were first invented in Trinidad and Tobago, in the last century, by hard-working, dedicated and committed black youths from the ghetto, who never gained the respect they truly deserved.

The only non-electronic musical instrument to be invented in the 20th Century, the steelpan is now produced in the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, threatening to leave their original inventors behind.