The Right Combination: The Keeling Beckford Story

Keeling Beckford is an example of what the true Jamaican spirit is all about when given the opportunity to achieve a worthwhile goal. Hailing from humble beginning in Kingston and Islington, Saint Mary, he later left for the United States in the early 1970s and is today one of the largest dealers in Jamaican audio/visual material in Brooklyn, New York.

An aspiring singer/songwriter in his boyhood days and as well as being the nephew of Jamaica's late great singer songwriter/musician and producer, Theophilus `Easy Snapping` Beckford, Keeling topped the Jamaican charts in 1968 with the very catchy hit song called `Combination`. Ironically, he was turned down by the likes of Desmond Dekker and Lee `Scratch` Perry at auditions and it was his persistent nature that led Perry to eventually give him the opportunity to record `Combination`. Several recordings followed and although not as prominent as `Combination`, Keeling boast a pretty decent catalog which also include several unreleased recordings from the early years,

Things was never easy for Keeling as he experienced quite a lot of setbacks, the kind of things that would have caused others to give up. In New York, Keeling started out buying and selling records from out of a shopping cart and later went on to open his first store in Manhattan. Now he operates from the former Chin Randys Record Store, Saint Johns Place in Crown Heights. Keeling is the undisputed king of Jamaican audio visual material in addition to having produced and even acted in Jamaican plays. Anything Jamaican in audio visual items such as CDs, DVDs, Records and Cassettes can be had at Keeling Reggae Store.
In maximizing his opportunity in the United States, Keeling also took the time to upgrade himself educationally and he became a veterinarian. `Dr. Keeling Beckford`.
In this feature `The Right Combination`, Keeling tells his amazing and inspirational story, which include the kind hearted deed done to him by the late great Sir Coxsone Dodd, and lots of graphics. This is a must for everyone interested in Jamaican music and culture.