Oral history interview with Tony Carr

Tony Carr spoke of his childhood and growing up in an upper middle class family in Jamaica; his parents and their occupations; the disciplinarian of the family; the importance of religion in his family; family and Jamaican values; the impact of television on Jamaican society; the schools he attended in Jamaica; his participation in sports, particularly track and field; and teaching in Jamaica before migrating to the United States. Carr explained the differences between churches in Jamaica versus churches in the United States; the development of reggae music in Central Kingston, Jamaica; and the music and musicians on radio stations in Jamaica versus in the United States. He talked about how he started in reggae music, owning a record shop on the east coast of United States with widest selection of African music, and hosting radio programs centered around African, calypso, and reggae music for radio stations. Carr spoke extensively about the history and evolution of music, including jazz, reggae, dancehall, indigenous music, rhythm and blues, Jamaican rap, American rap, and hip hop reggae. He also addressed the audience for the various music genres, and how and why the audiences evolved. Carr also spoke about the values of and violence in United States society; how these values affect music and the music industry; and how the US music industry affects what is music is played, where the music is played, and how music genres are defined or redefined. Carr spoke about why he left Jamaica, why he stay in the United States, attending Federal City College, getting Jamaican athletes into universities in the US, how he established permanent residence in the US, visiting the US every year prior to his long term residence, maintaining Jamaican culture in the United States, and the Caribbean community in Washington, DC. Carr also briefly spoke about Rastafarianism, Operation Caribbean Cruise, and the Jamaican posse. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee's voice is intelligible.