The Story of Steelbands and the Steelband Art Form in Aruba

Leonard Turner, a Trinidadian immigrant who worked at the Lago Oil Refinery, was the first to introduce steel bands in Aruba. Being unhappy with the lack of entertainment on the island Turner recruited a group of young men and they began experimenting with music.

In 1948 Turner formed his first steelband, known as the Invaders. In 1950 he joined forces with Naldo Brown and formed another steel orchestra, named Shoo-Shoo Baby and Aruba All Star Boys.

1957 - Aruba Invaders Win First Panorama - photo by Dr. Meiners

They started making their steel pans from oil drums collected from the Lago Oil Refinery. The barrels were formed by hammering the bottoms with a sledge hammer until they had the right shape and tone.

The group increasingly started to play variants of the samba, rumba and other popular music on their home-made instruments. As their rhythm and appearance became more common, and popularity grew, more and more musicians joined. Some of the steel bands grew to over forty musicians.

In 1951 a steelband from Trinidad arrived, exposing the steelpan scene to men like Naldo Brown, Edgar Connor, Dennis Jones and others.

Noormannen-steelband in 1961- Aruba Carnival - photo by Dr. Meiners

The first Carnival steel band competition ever was organized in 1964. Eight steel bands competed in a legendary competition. The Merrymakers, the Devils, the Curacao Heroes, the Long Gun Boys, the Paradera Steelband, The Silver Stars, The Allstars, and the Aruba Invaders were all talented groups which produced the most amazing sounds. Finally the Aruba Invaders won with their variant of the Theme from Exodus, making them the first Aruban steel band competition winners.

Steelband uit San Nicolas, 1969 - photo by Dr. Meiners

By the 1960s multiple steel bands were providing music for the carnival parades. This went on for over 30 years, although carnival steel bands were most popular in 1978, where a total of 18 steel bands featured in the steel band competition. Unfortunately, the amount of musical panmen decreased in the 1990s because of a lack of institutional support and appreciation. Today, steel bands are almost a lost art. You will rarely ever see a steel band in a parade, although one or two may exist.

1962 Aruba Steelband - photo by Dr. Meiners

Carnival 1972 - see more

March 1968 Panorama Champions Invaders - See more

Lt. Governor of Aruba O. S. Henriquez and Lago PR Administrator O. V. Antonette are here with brand new pans and drums marked "Aruba Esso Steel- band" to shipment to Curacao. The 23-piece steelband set is Lago's gift to the patients of the Psychiatric Institute "Rustoord". - See more Esso News 1972

Steel Orchestra Contest in Wilhelmina Stadium on February 5.The first place winners were the "Aruba Invaders" of San Nicolas. In picture above Carnival Foundation President Milo Croes hands winner's trophy to Edgar Conner, leader of the Aruba Invaders. - see more: Esso News Special Issue 1972

A Personal Story

In the Aruba Book Lago Colony, John Gordon MacNutt chronicles his experiences as a youth with pan.

The John Gordon MacNutt Story - born September 7,
1944, in the Aruba hospital

"Through a fluke, I organized the first American steel band in Aruba. We got a wild hair and decided it would be a neat idea. Gary Schlageter, Duncan Echelson and I were in junior high and we knew a man named Conners who was 30 years old at the time. Conners had had his own group, the Aruba Invaders, for many years. We approached him and asked if he would be interested in helping us. Enthusiastic about the idea, Conners made the drums for a price. We supplied the oil drums and he cut them and tuned them for us. Connors declined to show us how to make them; he wanted to keep that secret to himself.

It took us about six months to learn how to play them, and we did so for about a year. Sam Speziale, Gary Schlageter, Mark Dittle, and my younger brother, Roger, and I were in it, and my older brother, Arthur, was lead drummer.

We had soprano, alto, tenor, and bass drums. We had some bells, cow bells and things like that. The tunes were played from memory; there was no written music. Because lead soprano was so hard to play, Connors played with the band. Eventually he, Brad Linam and Arthur had to play the pieces together.

The short drum was the soprano; the three perfect five gallon drums I played were the bass. The shorter the drum, the more notes you could get out of it. The soprano drum had about 30 or 40 notes, whereas the bass drums had only three. They were played with a small stick, six inches long and half an inch in diameter. One end of it was wrapped heavy rubber bands to make a ball about one and a half inches in diameter.

We played calypso music that he taught us and just for the heck of it, we tried to play more modern tunes. Love Me Tender by Elvis 453 sounded quite passable. Marianne and Moses were a few of the calypso tunes we played at a couple of those junior proms, and some beach parties for different class parties. I don't think we had any particular costume. Once we learned how to play the drums we were invited to play at various functions."

Steelband in Aruba : eco di un gran epoca Part 1 of 2

Steelband in Aruba : eco di un gran epoca Part 2 of 2

Aruba 1965

The Story of Steelbands and the Steelband Art Form in Aruba - UpClose!