Exuma, the Obeah Man, was born Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey on Cat Island, Bahamas on February 18, 1942. His friends knew him as Tony or Obeah Man. He grew up on Canaan Lane off Shirley Street, Nassau, Bahamas. His work is an potpourri of reggae, African, heavy Bahamian folk dirges, swinging calypso, pounding junkanoo ruckus, & the groaning incantations of Obeah Man voudoun.
After growing up on Cat Island, Tony moved to New York City at age 17 to study architecture. However, he did not complete his studies. He became interested in writing, singing, & playing music. He formed a group called Tony McKay & the Islanders. In New York's 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene Tony found himself performing with such greats as Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, & even a young Jimi Hendrix.
Along with his partner & lifelong friend, Sally O'Brien, & several musician friends, Tony launched Exuma, a multi-faceted group that toured & recorded albums starting with Exuma I (The Obeah Man) in 1970 & ending with Rude Boy in 1986. This backing band was known only as the Junk Band & included Sally O'Brien, Lord Wellington, Mildred Vaney, Frankie Gearing, & Spy Boy Thielheim among others.
On Exuma I, the performers are: Tony ‘Exuma’ McKay – lead vocals, guitar, bells (ankle, junk, & elephant), & Sacred foot drum; Frankie Gearing, Geraldine McBride, Mildred Vaney, Princess Diana, & Sally O’Brien - backing vocals; Spy Boy Thielheim - backing vocals, triangle, cabassa, whistle, & bells; Daddy Ya Ya – backing vocals, bells, foot drum, & Sacred sand; & Lord Wellington – congas.
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Side 1 –
Exuma, the Obeah Man
Dambala
Mama Loi, Papa Loi
Side 2 –
Junkanoo
Seance in the Sixth Fret
You Don't Know What's Going On
The Vision
The group soon caught the attention of Blues Magoos manager Bob Wyld. Wyld brought Exuma to Mercury Records where he convinced them to sign Tony & Company. In 1970 Exuma released the albums Exuma I & Exuma II. From those albums he released the singles "Exuma, The Obeah Man", "Junkanoo", "Damn Fool", & "Zandoo". Exuma also garnered recognition for their song "You Don't Know What's Going On", which was featured on the soundtrack to John G. Avilsen's 1970 film Joe starring Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon, & Dennis Patrick.
On Exuma II, the performers are: Tony ‘Exuma’ McKay – lead vocals, guitar, ankle bell, & Sacred foot drum; Daddy Ya Ya – backing vocals, bass, attar & elephant bells, & marching drums; Yogi - backing vocals & junk bells; Spy Boy Thielheim – high harmony congas, cabassa, & Sacred sand; Lord Cherry - congas & whistle; Lord Wellington – congas; & Princess Diana & Sally O'Brien – backing vocals & whistles.
Side 1 –
Damn Fool
Baäl
Paul Simon Nontooth
Fire in the Hole
Side 2 –
A Place Called Earth
We Got to Go
African Rhythm
Zandoo
Exuma left Mercury in 1971 to sign with the Kama Sutra label, where they released the albums Do Wah Nanny, Snake, Reincarnation, & Life. From these albums they released the singles "Do Wah Nanny", "The Bowery", "Brown Girl", "Rushing Through the Crowd", & a cover of Paul McCartney's "Monkberry Moon Delight".
On Do Wah Nanny, the performers are: Exuma, the Obeah Man – lead & backing vocals, guitar, ankle bells & Sacred foot drums; Yogi – backing vocals & junk bells; Spy Boy Thielheim - congas & cabassa; Daddy Ya Ya - backing vocals & marching drums; Lord Cherry & Lord Wellington – congas, percussion, & junk bells; Cordell Thompson & H. W. Mannings – cow bells; & Diana Claudia Bunea & Sally O'Brien – backing vocals & whistles; with Bruce Samuels – bass; Alfred ‘Peewee’ Ellis – saxophone; & John Gatchell – trumpet (on “Do Wah Nanny”).
Side 1 –
Do Wah Nanny
Silver City
Eybrows & Beard
She Looks so Fine
Side 2 –
Roweena
The Bowery
22nd Century
Do Wah Nanny (part 2)
On Snake, Exuma are: Exuma, the Obeah Man - lead & backing vocals, guitar, cowbells, calling bells & triangle; John Russo - bass, violin, & lead guitar (“Don’t Let Go”); George J. ‘Duke’ Clemmons - upright bass; Stanley Wiley (except “Don’t Let Go” & Happiness & Sunshine” – Dave Libert) – piano; Michael B. Olatunji – talking drum, African congas & shaker; Akinjorin ‘Juice’ Omolade – lead saxophone & African drums; Michael O’Neil - backing vocals, congas, & saxophone; Carl Jennings & Jerry Congales – trumpet; Chuchlow Eliebank – steel drums; Jeffory Miller – set drums; Michael Laneve – timbales; & Yogi Achmed Ben Mansel, Barbara ‘Omolaye’ Simon, Sally O'Brien, & Tonice Gwathney – backing vocals.
Side 1 –
Obeah, Obeah, O
Snake
Don’t Let Go
Attica, Part 1
Side 2 –
Thirteenth Sunday
Subway Bound for Hell
Happiness & Sunshine
Summertime in New York
Andros is Atlantic Rising
Exuma’s Reincarnation
On Reincarnation, the musicians are: Exuma, the Obeah Man – lead & backing vocals, guitar, cowbell, whistle, goat skin drums, ankle bells, Sacred sand, & throat harp; Baron Samedi - backing vocals, cowbells, bass throat harp, & shadow ring; Yogi Achmed Ben Mansel - backing vocals, cowbell, percussion, sand box, & walking road; Kenny Aaronson – bass; Al Hicks – backing vocals & drums; with Richie Wise – guitar (“Monkberry Moon Delight”); Fernando Gumbs - bass (“Pay Me What You Owe Me” & “Walking Home”); Paul Carpenter - piano (“Monkberry Moon Delight” & Pay Me What You Owe Me”); & Kester Smith - drums (“ Brown Girl”, “Monkberry Moon Delight”, & “Exuma’s Reincarnation”).
Side One –
Brown Girl
Monkberry Moon Delight (Paul McCartney)
Metastophaliese
Obeah Man Come Back
Baby, Let Me In
Pay Me What You Owe Me
Side Two –
Empty Barrels
Walking Home
Rushing Through the Crowd
Ballad for Sammy
Exuma’s Reincarnation
On Life, the players are: Exuma, the Obeah Man - lead & backing vocals, guitar, goat skin drums, bugle, trumpet, whistle, & cowbell; Yogi Achmed Ben Mansel – backing vocals, cowbell, maracas, & whistle; Kenny Aaronson – bass; Kester Smith – drums; Patti Brown – piano & celeste; Michael O’Neill - backing vocals, congas, saxophone, & claves; Kurt Nurse – steel drums & timbales; with Priscilla Rollins – backing vocals (“If it Feels Good, Do It”); George J. ‘Duke’ Clemons – upright bass (“You Can’t Always get What You Want”); Steve Love – guitar & sitar (“If it Feels Good, Do It” & “Paint it Black”); Kenny Bichel - piano (“If it Feels Good, Do It” & “Paint it Black”); Jeff Smith - saxophone (“Viva El Matador”); Tyrone Demmons - trumpet (“Viva El Matador”); Richie Wise - tambourine (“If it Feels Good, Do It”); & Bryan Maday - drums (“If it Feels Good, Do It” & “Paint it Black”).
Side One –
If it Feels Good, Do It
Paint it Black (The Rolling Stone)
Love is Strange
The Jumping Dance
Iko Iko (James ‘Sugar Boy’ Crawford – original title “Jock-a-Mo”)
You Can’t Always get What You Want (The Rolling Stone)
Side Two –
Night Time People
Hayride
Oh! Lovey
Sodom & Gomorrah
Kenyatta Alisha
Viva El Matador
Drawing on the traditional Bahamian folk songs, the infectious beat of Junkanoo, ring play, myths & linguistic idiom, Exuma the Obeah Man through his musical recordings, performances & paintings promoted Bahamian heritage & presented Bahamian music to the world more so than any other contemporary Bahamian recording artist.
On Rude Boy, Exuma are: Exuma, the Obeah Man – lead & backing vocals, congas, cowbell, drums, acoustic guitar, & keyboards; Charles Brady – guitar; Bruce MacDonald – backing vocals & guitar; Charles Handcock – lead & backing vocals, bass, cowbell, rhythm guitar, & handclapping; Lisa Mednick – backing vocals & keyboards; Bilal Sunni Ali – flute & saxophone; Hack Bartholomew – trumpet; Steve Amedee – backing vocals & drums; David Farrell – drums, shaker, tom-tom, & triangle; Miguel Banegas & Rafael Cruz – congas, cowbells, & timbales; & Sarone Run Raa – cowbell.
(originally on ROIR 1986)
Tracklist –
Rude Boy
Clean on the Outside, Dirty on the Inside
They Coming ‘Junkanoo’
Shirlene
Dready
Fishing on the Rock
Saint James Road Slim
Soca ‘Bite Me on My Belly’
Dream
Bam Bam
In the late 80s, Tony suffered a mild heart attack, after that devoting much of his time to painting, his other great talent. His paintings have been featured on many of his album covers, exhibited many times & are collected by art lovers & friends. Tony never really abandoned his music however. He still wrote & performed his original music, continuing to perform at the New Orleans Jazz Festival until 1991.
On January 25, 1997 he died peacefully in his sleep. At the time he had been shopping around for a label to release a new album. Tony left behind several children, including Gavin, Kenyatta (“Kenyatta Alisha” from
Life), Acklins, & Jahleena. His first son, Shaw & Shaw’s mother ‘Sammy’ (“Ballad for Sammy” from
Reincarnation) were murdered in the early 1970s in New York's Lower East Side. Both Acklins & Kenyatta Alisha are gifted vocal artists carrying on the musical tradition of their talented father.
Enjoy,
NØ