that he and his brothers were born with music in their souls.

Mr. Talbot, born on April 5, 1918 in Tucker's Town, was the tenth of 12 brothers and sisters (two siblings died) and his parents were Osmond Talbot and Mamie Lambert Talbot of Tucker's Town.

"I was blessed with good, Christian parents and they were strict about going to school and church. My mother played the piano in church and we all sang.

They enjoyed music and in turn motivated us to sing and play. Our musical roots were founded in the church,'' recalled Mr. Talbot.

The children attended the local school, the Talbot School, which stands today in Tucker's Town on top of the hill near Mid-Ocean Club.

Mr. Talbot started singing and playing guitar, dressed in short little pants, in millionaire's homes around age 12 or 13. He was considered too young for the original Talbot Brothers group. He was initially known for singing "Bermuda Buggy Ride''.

It more or less began with the support and introduction from a wealthy man by the name of C.B. McDonald who helped design the Mid-Ocean golf course.

"My older brother, Austin, drove a horse and carriage for the Mid-Ocean Club and so did I. In those days there were only horses and carriages for transportation. Mr. McDonald was one of our early supporters and we would get invitations to perform,'' explained Mr. Talbot.

The Talbots reformed the group to go professional in 1942. During their heyday, the Talbot Brothers consisted of Ross, Archie, Austin, Roy, Bryan and cousin Mandy. During the Second World War, they became one of the primary sources of live island entertainment for many servicemen and were broadcast on ZBM radio.

After the war ended and the hotels reopened, the Talbots made their first major hotel appearance in 1948 at the Elbow Beach. Meanwhile Ross was continuing with his solo engagements on the Island and abroad and was noted to be a sensational, popular performer.

During the 1950s and '60s the "Talbot Brothers'' performed in Bermuda's best hotels such as Elbow Beach, Bermudiana, Reefs, Grotto Bay, Pink Beach and the Princess. "Many wealthy tourists came to Bermuda then and stayed longer. This period was a heyday for tourism and the tourists loved us.

"Years ago I would sometimes invite tourists to our home. We'd sit outdoors to catch the breezes and sip cool drinks. I'd be strumming my guitar with my small children running around, Melvyn, Bryan, Clement, and Sheryan.'' Around Easter when college weeks were on Mr. Talbot and the band would play songs like `Incognito at Midnight' and `Calypso Cha Cha Cha'. In fact, they played at the first college weeks.

Blackie was taken to the Airport in a jeep to meet the College students and played "Bermuda Buggy Ride'' and his brothers awaited on Elbow Beach. The Talbots were known for their lively island music first and for their colourful straw hats secondly.

"Archie started the hats when he tried to waterproof his by painting it red.

Our agent in New York liked it and sent us a box with 12 hats of various sizes. I painted mine blue and had a blue band with white dots on it. One of my nieces has it now,'' said Mr. Talbot.

"The kids would get into their rhythm, and start dancing. They would laugh, clap and squeal! There would be eight or ten thousand college kids,'' reflected Mr. Talbot with a chuckle.

The Whipping Post, one of the private clubs at Yale University, frequently invited our group to play. I met President Ford when he was a college boy at Yale. We also played at Princeton and Harvard.'' Mr. Talbot enthusiastically recalled: "This period was probably the best in my life. In 1953 we began our first American tour. We were doing a lot of travelling to American cities and the finest country clubs for 25 of our 40 years in the business from October through November. We also toured Canada.'' Back in the late '50s and '60s being a black person or "coloured'' wasn't always easy. There was a lot of serious segregation. Blacks had to sit at the back of the bus and usually couldn't go into eating places unless they were in black restaurants. There were very few American blacks that had ever sat foot in a posh country club except to cook or serve food.

The Talbots were an exception to the norm and were always treated well. They sat in the main dining room with the other guests at all the country clubs they attended and stayed in nice hotels.

Although the Bermuda Government held the Talbot Brothers in high esteem and patted them on the back for being instrumental with the tourists, they were never given monetary compensation and the group paid their airfares and travel expenses when travelling.

Together this group charmed millions with their mellow magical harmonies. They were artistic ambassadors for Bermuda. "We hit cities like New York, Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Chicago and Miami! It was exciting! We had a lot of energy and wrote many popular calypso tunes with a Latin beat. "The Boston Herald's review said, we were the most celebrated calypso singers and players in the world.'' "Only three chords are needed to play calypso, so in later years of my career I learned other chords on the guitar. This made it easier for me to play the Sinatra songs that people would request from time to time.'' During their performances in New York they met Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, Sammy Davis, and Nat King Cole. The Talbots performed at New York's 21 Club, and Boston's Parker House. In fact, New York is Mr.

Talbot's favourite city on the planet.

"I love New York because it is so alive! It's an entertainer's delight. I have a lot of fond memories of Jilly's Club, on the West Side, where all the entertainers would go after their acts between 2 and 4 a.m. After 4 a.m.

everyone would head to the Waldorf Astoria to a private club.

`Blackie' Talbot remembers "One night Frank Sinatra was at Jilly's drinking champagne at his usual table and I was there with a friend. Sinatra's nickname was Chairman of the Board and a band by the name of `Trio' was playing one of our songs.

"After they sang our song they announced that Island Boy, Ross Talbot was in the audience. Everyone applauded and I was touched. I got up to the microphone, started snapping my fingers and said, `What can I say' and I began humming and singing Summertime and this is... After I finished the song Frank shouted out, `What island, must be Long Island.' Everyone clapped and laughed.

Additionally, the Talbot band performed in London at the Palladium for seven sensational weeks. Their fame spread and they appeared on the NBC in 1957 and twice on the Ed Sullivan Show. As their popularity grew they became subjects of feature stories in Life, Look, The Bermudian, and Holiday magazines.

Like all popular entertainers, the Talbot Brothers had numerous fans. It was said in the past when young tourists landed and went through customs the first questions to the Customs officers were: "Where's the best beach and how do we contact the Talbot Brothers?'' Mr. Talbot, still a charismatic and charming gentleman at age 80, sheepishly admitted that he had always been known as a "ladies' man''.

"I've been divorced for 30 years and after the divorce you could say I had a sweetheart in every major city we visited. I was particularly popular in London and had many fine lady friends seeking me out, a few even proposed marriage. I could pick and choose but I never remarried.'' Besides being handsome and talented one reason for "Blackie's'' popularity was his solo work at private cocktail parties for the rich and famous.

Sometimes before or after his main gig with the brothers, Blackie would be picked up in a shiny, black limousine and chauffeured to someone's special party, sometimes black tie and sometimes less formal.

The favourite song of Mr. Talbot was "Bermuda's still Paradise'' which received international acclaim.

Today Mr. Talbot and his brother Roy are the surviving members of the Talbot Brothers Band. The years have gently aged this octogenarian who looks considerably younger than he is.

Mr. Talbot has a passion for fishing and golf which consumes most of his time since he retired about eight years ago.

He usually fishes with a simple hand line off the rocks at Harrington Sound.

"Sometimes I get a bite and catch supper and sometimes I catch nothing. I find it relaxing just listening to the sounds of nature and I like hearing the lapping of the sea against the rocks.'' If you peep into the back of Mr. Talbot's car you will see a set of well used golf clubs. He's always ready to take to the greens.

Each Sunday Mr. Talbot sings in the "Golden Men's Church Choir'' at the Marsden Methodist Church, near Devil's Hole tween 9.15 and 10.15 a.m. He's been singing here for 60 odd years. His family helped build the church.

Mr. Talbot has a few ideas on how tourism could be improved: "We need more dedication from everyone. We all need to extend warmth and smiles to our tourists. Back yonder we used to invite people to our homes.

Today the pace is much faster and people are racing around rather than taking a moment to exchange pleasantries.

"The Island needs to have more original Bermuda entertainment. I am willing to help any promising young Bermudian band and I've told Mr. Dodwell this.

Show me some Bermudian talent and I'll help to give them a start.

"The hotels, restaurants and Tourism Department need to team up and advertise the local musicians and the local musicians need gigs at the hotels and restaurants. Tourism spends $30 odd million a year advertising abroad so why not promote what is here? Tourists want the native shows.

Tourists have told me when they come to Bermuda they want plenty of good food, good service, nice beaches, shopping and evening entertainment. And some of them want to golf, tennis or fish.

They want to be able to kick back with a cocktail or Perrier and enjoy the local Island music in the evening. Even cruise ship passengers who have everything on the boat are curious about local bands and shows! People working in the tourist industry should project positive attitudes and remember that tourism is our number one livelihood. They should be polite and patient with tourists in the hopes that they will keep coming back. Tourists are our lifeline.'' THE HEY DAY -- The Talbot Brothers first record album.