KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[Staff Poze 2]

The Story of Skah Shah started in 1974, however the reason why the musicians had to change the name from Shleu Shleu to Skah Shah is not know to many.......

PLEASE TAKE NOTES........

When Compas Direct the band of Nemours Jean Baptiste was in his prime time, many young men were copying the work of the famous musicians especially the Accordionist Richard Duroseau and the the guitarist Raymond Gaspard. Among the followers was a young man living in the neighborhood of Mornes Nelliot by the name of Serge Rosenthal. Serge played the Accordion and the guitar trying his best to be the next Richard or the new Raymond.With his friend the drummer Smith Jean Baptiste and other guitarists like Jacques Fabre,Camille Philippe and Kiki Bayard a little neighborhood band was created....they called themselves LES MANFOUBENS.
Dada Djacaman an Arab-Haitian man with much better financial situation decided to take the dream of the youngsters to another level and on December 22,1965 the band with the addition of some new members was baptized as LES SHLEU SHLEU de Dada Djacaman......showing that the band is the property of the investor.

Contrary to the bands of Nemours and Sicot and the other bands of the time playing with a full horn section, the new band had a reduce format with only one saxophone played by Tony Moise....and there you have it the first MINI JAZZ was created with J.C pierre Charles (Peddy) and Hans Cherubin (Gro Bébé) on lead vocal.
The band captured the attention of the new generation and before long they were the kings of the airwaves with songs like Alfredo- Pèche A La Ligne-Maille -Devinez -Café Au Lait among others. By the end of the decade the country was floated with Mini Jazz from almost every neighborhood copycatting the work of Shleu Shleu. But Shleu Shleu continued to be like a real king among the others and they carry themselves as such too. They continue to write hit songs like Moune Damou- 7 Jours Se La Semaine-Ceremonie Loa and some nice slow songs like Grille Ta Cigarette and Minuit Sonnen.
However with such success the band was invited to play in the U.S and during the tour the musicians decided to stay and continue with their career in N.Y. When the businessman Dada Djacaman realized that the musicians had abandoned ship and will not returned,he quickly put a new Shleu Shleu back together in Haiti with a new squad of musicians under the leadership of his captain the maestro Serge Rosenthal. Suddenly in 1970 you have a Shleu Shleu in N.Y and one in Haiti with both bands creating top hit songs....When the guys in N.Y found out about the one in Haiti they called themselves Original Shleu Shleu.
In the early seventies while the first squad in N.Y were charming the fans with songs like En Filant Les Aiguilles-Trou Crab -L'evangile and L'amitié....The second squad had a new breed of Super talents being mentored by Serge Rosenthal...and they were Loubert Chancy on Sax, the cousins Mario Mayala and Jhonny Frantz Toussaint (Ti Frè) on Guitars the drummer Arserne Appolon and the singers Zouzoule and Cubano. The second squad really showed their talents in songs like Cé La Ou Yé- 7 Péché Capitaux and Cap Grandou.
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Did you read your "Konpa Encyclopedia" today...

Last edited by Staff Poze 2 on Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:06 am; edited 1 time in total

[Staff Poze 2]

In 1973 the band got the attention of the public when they released a song for the National Football Team on the occasion of the CONCACAF soccer tournament a Pre- World Cup Qualifier Games held in Haiti. The motivation song with the name of the football stars like Manno Sanon –Philippe Vorbes –Claude Barthelemy among others was played on the radio every day prior to, and during the tournament as the nation sang to the catchy chorus parts Al Bay Goal and Nou Pral A Munich referring to Munich Germany where the Haiti National team played against Italy –Argentina and Poland in the 1974 World Cup Finals. The band also released the album Acé Frapé with the songs Solanges –Belle Ti Machann and Banda.
With such success they too started to make people dance around the world. They were often playing in the French Caribbean Islands and in Europe as they are seen on the album Succes Des Shleu Shleu A Paris with a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris France.....and BOOM the second squad landed in N.Y and as you may know it...they followed the foot steps of the first squad...just like a road map from point A to point B........they too decided to abandon ship living Dada and Serge to deal with the damage.......and the creation of the third squad.
NOW...Unlike the first squad the new group had a problem....NEW YORK already had a band known as SHLEU SHLEU and on top of it they were doing good despite the presence of Tabou Combo in the area....So the second squad couldn't use the name Shleu Shleu.
It was brainstorm time.......and finally the drummer Yves Arserne Appolon came out of a room with the name SKAH SHAH......a name that means Little King of Africa.....or if you want it can also be a Little African King........and indeed ladies and gentlemen N.Y suddenly had a new king and the band had for a good while dominated the scene of the Konpa society in the Haitian Diaspora.
By the next decade, some members couldn't keep up with their fames and the little king had turn into too many big kings for one small kingdom and we have experienced over the years especially in the 1990's the big confusion with a whole bunch of bands with the last name Skah Shah.

At one time Cubano had his own Skah Shah, Loubert Chancy had his own Shah Shah and Arserne Appolon also had his own Skah Shah just like if they couldn’t let go of the name that they all cherish so much. Besides the albums released as Skah Shah #1 with the band as the solid team, there are also some albums like Shah Shah D’Haiti- Skah Shah # 1 Plus -Skah Shah #1 Plus Alliance released by Arserne- Skah Shah Number One by Cubano- as well as Georges Loubert Chancy Skah Shah #1 and Jhonny Frantz Toussaint du Skah Shah.
There are over 60 albums in the market with the name Skah Shah including some live recording and compilation of hit songs.

After several attempts it seems like the band finally had a successful reunion as they are these days working as a team. The members of the second squad that left Haiti in 1974 to created Skah Shah in N.Y released in 2006 their latest album entitled "Lagué Diazz La" with 10 songs.....

QUE LA PAIX SOIT AVEC VOUS SKAH SHAH..........AND PLEASE TRY TO STAY FOREVER AS ONE LITTE KING......
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Did you read your "Konpa Encyclopedia" today...

[konpa rockers]

very well put staff poze...
can you try and list most of the 60 recordings...
at least the important ones...
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"GOD MADE ME HAITIAN FOR A REASON"

[kompared]

Staff, bon bagay..!!!

[Kunta]

good stuff! Where is Pipirite?
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OU VLE LAVE LAJAN, LAGE L NAN MAYTAG LA

HERE'S WHAT A FULL BAND LOOKS LIKE

[Melokompa]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with you.
Good stuff net ale
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Magnum Band: La Seule Difference

[pipirite]

Staff,

Good job as usual.... We are very lucky to have such a historian on this board!!!

I do not have much to add, Staff said it all....

I know that their first album GUEPE PANGNOLE were a series of song that used to sing in SHLEU SHLEU right before they seperate themselves from Dada...this is is why Dada wanted to sue them when the album came out... they quickly went to record LES 10 COMMANDEMENTS

Cubano once told me that when they were traveling in the Antilles...they used to greet them like THE BEATLES....this is why they had those nices uniforms!!!!

[konpa rockers]

pipirite wrote:

Staff, Good job as usual.... We are very lucky to have such a historian on this board!!! I do not have much to add, Staff said it all.... I know that their first album GUEPE PANGNOLE were a series of song that used to sing in SHLEU SHLEU right before they seperate themselves from Dada...this is is why Dada wanted to sue them when the album came out... they quickly went to record LES 10 COMMANDEMENTS Cubano once told me that when they were traveling in the Antilles...they used to greet them like THE BEATLES....this is why they had those nices uniforms!!!!

this is why both skah shah and shleu shleu put out the same album.
the only difference was that shleu shleu added one extra song "grateur".
cubano sung the songs on skah shah and zouzoule sung the shleu shleu songs...
maybe that was why dada had the problem with skah shah....
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"GOD MADE ME HAITIAN FOR A REASON"

[XXplosive]

Bon bagay wi la Staff.
AMpil respect pou ou!!!!!!!!!!!
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YA RAYI'W TANDE TI GASON(RICKY)

[GNB]

STAFF WE APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK
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"UN PEUPLE NE DEVRAIS PAS SOUFFRIR AINSI, RESPECTEZ VOTRE PATRIE " SWEET MICKY