Terrence Cameron and the Steel Kings

About Trinidadian Steel Drum Music
Listen to the Steel Kings

In a small West Philadelphia row-house basement, Terrence Cameron turns common 55-gallon oil drums into high quality musical instruments—steel pans—which are the Caribbean instruments used in steel bands. Born on the island of Grenada in 1941, Terrence had moved with his family to Trinidad by the mid-1940s. From his early childhood he vividly remembers hearing steel band music, especially The Starlight Syncopators, a steel band from his hometown of San Juan. In 1956, he joined a band called The Bell Boys and learned to play the double tenors, the principle melodic pan set in a steel orchestra.

At the age of seventeen, Terrence joined The Rhapsody Steel Orchestra led by Stanley Warner, who taught him how to construct steel pans. In 1963, he formed his first band for which he made the entire set of drums. Within a few years he had received so many orders for his drums that he quit the band and traveled throughout the islands as a full-time drum maker. Today, Terrence Cameron is one of ten steel drum makers on the east coast. He has participated in the Folk Artists in the Schools program sponsored by International House of Philadelphia and has performed extensively throughout the eastern United States.

The Steel Kings, USA is one of those successful bands that travel annually to compete against the best bands in the world. With seven members, their repertoire is diverse and filled with clear, crisp and rhythmic harmonies. While other bands have lost some of the traditional rhythm in favor of intricate melodies and harmonies designed to impress judges, the music of the Steel Kings USA remains, first and foremost, danceable.

© 2001 On Tour Productions