Unassuming songster Dennis Parkinson is a ‘Special Person’

Nov 04, 2012 News

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 “It was always the love for what I was doing, and making people happy, it wasn’t about the money, as I derived tremendous satisfaction from performing.”
By Enid Joaquin
Dennis Parkinson, to those who don’t really know him, seems the most unassuming, unobtrusive and amicably quiet person – until he opens his mouth…to sing that is.
Then he takes control. He will captivate you with his soulful renditions – his satin smooth voice, delving deep into the hidden recesses of your heart, rekindling flames that you swore had long gone out.
During these magical mental excursions, Dennis will woo, caress, enchant and comfort, as he transports you momentarily from the cares of this world- ensnaring you with his voice that deems nearly all susceptible to its magic- his eloquent proclamations keep you hanging on every word!
Dennis Parkinson has undertaken many tasks in his life, but it is his singing that catapulted him to the pinnacle of popularity in Linden, and even abroad; and it is singing that has made him a very special person.

Dubbed, “singer par excellence” by some, his name has become almost synonymous, with this particular art form. Little wonder, as his career in this field of endeavour, spans more than half a century.
His talent was spotted, and nurtured from the tender age of seven, when he started singing in church. He would continue singing through school, and at the age of eleven was a member of a contingent from schools around Mackenzie that participated in the British Guiana Music Festival. His rendition earned him an ‘excellent’ grade. Later he would win the Elocution Contest in 1956 at Queen’s College.
But it was the trip to participate in the music festival in Georgetown that would remain etched in Dennis’ memory forever.  As the trip was sponsored by Demba, the motorboat “Polaris,’ which was owned by the company, took the participating students to Georgetown.
“That was one of the fastest and most beautiful boats on the river at the time,  and it was only used to transport the elites of the company, and visiting dignitaries to Mackenzie; so a trip on the Polaris was an historic event for me, and I guess for the other students as well.
He received his early education at the Mackenzie All-Age School (Primary) Echols High School (Secondary) and Saint Stanislaus College. Dennis later took a course of studies at the University of Guyana Extra Mural division in Personnel Management; and did Company-sponsored courses in Basic and Advanced Management.
LAUNCHING OUT
Dennis says he owes a ‘mountain of gratitude’ to three persons, all of whom are now deceased, with mentoring him and nurturing his talent. They were Harry Mayers, leader of the then Demba Band, Herman Parris, organist of the Christ the King Anglican Church, who enlisted him as a young tenor, with the church’s choir, and Milton ‘the Maestro’ Smartt, then renowned pianist and organist.
It was Smartt who would introduce Dennis to Cabarets, and provided his musical accompaniment on many occasions, both in and out of Linden.
Dennis would later become a member of the Oracles singing group which comprised four other teenagers along with him, in 1961.
The Oracles was at the time a group to be reckoned with throughout Guyana, as they would win the National singing competition for three years in succession-from 1962 to 1964. The group subsequently morphed into a string band, and became one of the best of that time.
As the band grew in popularity, so did Dennis’ vocal prowess and his popularity with the ladies. Nonetheless he is adamant that he was never really a ‘ladies man’. ‘But if they came on to me- well I didn’t back down’, he admits nonchalantly.

He reflected fondly on his days with the band, especially the times they played for the then popular Mackenzie Sports Club Fair.
“Those were the best days,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘You know they used to have these dancing rinks, and we used to play for the biggest one, which was called the El Bingo Square, and that used to draw the biggest crowd. People loved our band, because apart from playing good music, we had some of the best vocalists.
Man, people used to come from all over Guyana. At the time there was no Highway, so people travelled by RH Carr, a vessel, which used to come packed to capacity; and the dancing rinks, well that was something else, people used to dance till day clean. But then, they didn’t have too much to worry about because the economy was good, and everybody wanted to come to Linden, because that was one of the biggest and best fairs in the country.”
SOJOURNS ABROAD
Dennis would be afforded many opportunities to represent Guyana abroad as a vocalist with both the Oracles string band and later, the equally popular Cannon Balls orchestra.
He participated in the Suriname Trade Fair in 1979, and eight years later in the April Spring Friendship Art Festival in Pyongyang, North Korea, where he did his two renditions in the Korean language, much to the audience’s delight and amazement.
He would also tour Canada and the USA with the Cannon Balls in 1987 and 1988.
Dennis would remain a vocalist with Oracles until 1972, but would freelance with the Cannon Balls on occasion, especially on their sojourns overseas.
It was while he was a member of the Oracles that he was afforded the opportunity of meeting and performing on the same stage with the legendary American soul singer Ben E. King, at the old Crescent Cinema in Mackenzie.

That proved to be quite an experience for the group.
“Now we knew we could sing, or at least we thought so, but this man with his big powerful voice literally drowned us out,” Dennis recalled with amusement.
Decades later, in 1988, while on a summer sojourn with the Cannon Balls in the United States, he had the opportunity of seeing and hearing the famous Stevie Wonder perform, at the Apollo Theatre in Manhattan.
“Hearing and actually seeing Stevie Wonder perform in the flesh was an awesome experience for me. It was unique. It was then that I really realized what a great artiste he is, and the profound impact that he makes on people. Many people were so touched by his performance that they were crying. I myself was much moved,” Dennis reminisced.
Over the years Dennis himself has touched many persons with his singing, and in these latter years he has mostly been doing so free of charge, for various events in the mining Town.
He has featured prominently at many weddings, funerals and other events.
And Dennis loves it; he says this is his way of giving back to the community that has loved and supported him throughout the years.
According to him, singing was never about its “lucrativeness”, because it was never really a job that paid well. “It was always the love for what I was doing, and making people happy, it wasn’t about the money, as I derived tremendous satisfaction from performing,” he declared.
So it was that Dennis had to hold on to his day job, at first with the bauxite industry itself, and later as Administrator with the Mackenzie Hospital.
DAY JOB
Dennis joined the Demerara Bauxite Company in January of 1960 as an “office boy” in the railroad department. He then moved to the diesel section as an apprentice, and later to the machine shop planning office, as a clerk.
In all he gave 43 years of service to the industry.
During his tenure with the company, Dennis also served as Trustee to the Guyana Bauxite Supervisors’ Union from 1982 to 1984.
His final attachment was with the Linden Hospital Complex, from where he retired as Administrator in 2003.
He is the recipient of four awards, namely “Best Pop Singer” at the SSS Musical Award Show in 1992 at the Mackenzie Sports Club, one for “Outstanding Service to the Community” from Linden Tourism Community, in 2000; another for  “Recognition of the invaluable contribution made to the Guyana Public Service Union” in 2008, and the “Mayor’s Award” for Yeoman Service to Linden in the field of culture in 2012.
BORN TO SING
Our ‘special person’ is a born Lindener and grew up in Mora Street, Mackenzie, with his aunt Nora Parkinson. He never knew his mother as she died in the process of delivering him, so Dennis became his aunt Nora’s son, as she had no biological children. He would not meet his father until he was twenty-four years old.
“Aunt Nora raised me as she would her own – I never missed a mother’s love, she was like my true mother. She was a teacher and very strict, and being musically inclined, helped to instill in me the love of music and singing. Then my mother Hyacinth was also into music, as she sang and played the piano very well I was told, so I guess my passion for singing and music is kind of hereditary- something I was born to do,” Dennis reflected.
Many have agreed with that declaration, especially after listening to the two compact discs, which he has produced.
The first disc, “We Give Thanks” consists of Gospel and Inspirational songs, while the second, “Golden Memories” is filled with treasured golden oldies.
“I thought that the first CD I should put out, should be one unto God, so I put together these songs, very popular ones, which I adopted. “We Give Thanks” is my personal composition.”
The CD was launched in Brooklyn, New York, at the Linden Fund USA’s annual ball in 2006, and was very well received by fans over there, while “ Golden Memories” was released in 2008 in Linden, and received rave reviews.
Dennis considers the production of the two discs a labour of love, and the realization of his lifelong dream. However, he is very perturbed by the prevalence of ‘bootlegging’, which is robbing artistes like himself of their financial dues.
Notwithstanding, he is determined to persevere in this field of endeavour. He expressed profound gratitude to his wife Jenny, and children Sharon, Teddy, Shemeika and Sonia, for all their support, and his musical arranger Pastor Richard Mac Donald, whom he describes as both a brother and a friend, and recording engineer Lester Denny.
His wife, Jenny George-Parkinson, an accomplished musician, provides him with musical accompaniment, whenever he practices at home. His hobbies include singing, reading, and playing billiards and dominoes.
These days, Dennis no longer works at his day job, which gives him all the time in the world, to do the thing he loves doing best – singing. And from the look of things, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll stop doing that anytime soon!

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