FRED DONNER - SUPER CAT  -  WILD APACHE<META NAME="homepage" content="Fred Donner Tribute Site"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="This Web site, created by Ras J, is the resting place for Fred on the internet.  Big respect to Super Cat and the Wild Apache Crew."> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Fred Donner, Wild Apache, Super Cat">

A TRIBUTE TO THE RIGHTEOUS AND HONORABLE F R E D E R I C K   D O N N E R

Free MP3 download tribute courtesy of Super Cat & Wild Apache: 'The Great Fred Donner Memorial Dance'  www.super-cat.com

I first met Fred in Hartford way back in about 1991 or 1992.  We had both made our way to an Augustus Pablo show at the old Dillon Stadium.  I was a reggae DJ at WECS in Willimantic and he had just finished off his days at the Comet club.  Fairly typical of Hartford reggae shows both then and now, Augustus never showed, but we did see Pablo Moses & Fred soon introduced me to some of the local Jamaican promoters and a few of the other artists hanging around that day.  We quickly became friends that summer and when Josey Wales came to town, I drove him around in my mom's Ford Taurus. We all hung out for a few days. After that I worked with him doing backline for a few shows and just smoking a spliff or whatever now & then.  He introduced me to Dennis Brown and many other foundation artists.  I remember driving in his old pickup truck and listening to the first Body Count cd, as well as a new tune called 'Coppershot' from Bounty Killer.  I moved to NYC for an internship at Cold Chillin' Records after college and we kept in touch off and on.  He told me about his next gig, working as road manager for Super Cat.  I'm not sure what my first Cat show was, but it was around that time.  I went to visit him at his apartment in the Village that he shared with some crazy German artist.  I went out on the road with him, as a driver for Super Cat and the City Heat band.  We drove all over the place - from NYC to Carolina and he was one of my many mentors coming up in the business.  He was always fair, telling you what he could afford pay you for each situation & then always following through as promised.    in COnneci

He always taught me never to wrong someone because it would only come back to haunt you no matter who it was - and even if the bloodclot deserved it!  He also taught me to keep my mouth shut and not tip my hand.  And also, as Cat says, to "believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."  I still follow these words today.  I was working with up and coming reggae artists back then like Buju Banton, Mad Lion, Rayvon, Born Jamericans, Patra, Red Fox, Tony Rebel, Screechy Dan, Shaggy and many other popular artists of that time, but through Fred I met underground legends like Nicodemus, Frankie Paul, Daddy U Roy, Junior Cat, Junior Demus, Brigadier Jerry, Burro Banton and Jimmy Cliff . We did an uptown show at Club 2000 with Bobby Konders (who I knew from his days at the Muse). I worked the door for Apache at the Biltmore Ballroom and met the Stone Love crew.  When Fred and I walked outside the next day it was light out. I was a trusted member of the inner circle of Wild Apache.  When I went to a 2am dancehall show at the Harlem Karate Club, I walked into the dance with the Colonel and my good friend Fred. When they did the Cabin Stabbin at the Hammerstein Ballroom, it was me and Fred. When I went to see Sugar Minott and the Bob Marley Tribute at Irving Plaza, it was with Fred. Even as I moved up through the music business into my own success, we remained good friends. I went to visit him at Cat's house out on Long Island and we smoked a spliff and went and got some good Jamaican food.  We sat around and listened to old Wild Apache 45s. I later joined him at a few shows with Cat out in Jersey and at various clubs all over the tri-state area. I watched the band rehearse at Rocket Studios in the city with Trevor Sparks and Frankie Paul. We laughed together as Cat did his hilarious impression of the old 'Ricola' throat drop commercial. But Fred was not some silly bandwagon reggae wannabe - he was the real deal. Yes, he loved reggae, but he also loved the Clash and punk rock. He just loved music and found a spiritual home inside reggae.  He was also the kind of guy who was never too good to say hello to anyone. The kind of guy who said thank you to a clerk at a store and meant it. We talked for hours on end about righteousness and the reality of the music business. In his partnership with Super Cat, he shared a common vision that should never be forgotten. They both refused to sell out their soul for a quick buck. They turned down lots of shady deals even though they could have easily just taken the money. That's what Fred should be remembered for - he was the Anti-Fuckery Rasta Warrior - a true lion fighting the tides of Babylon every day. I hooked up with him and the Wild Apache crew again in Springfield, years later, when they had moved up to a Greyhound tour bus - but things were always the same with us.  He never forgot people and even made sure I was listed in the credits for the 'Struggle Continues' cd.  I didn't really care about the words or the exposure, just the thought.  He said "We nah forget anyone we come up with."He hooked up Gary Pine with his Wailers audition and never asked for a nickel.   When I moved out of the city and started my family in North Carolina, Fred would still call me up just to say hello.  I sent him pictures of my kids and he would talk to me as it always was - true friends with no agenda and no secrets.  He fostered many young artists and never took advantage of them and shunned those who did not walk a righteous path in this world without being preachy.  We were actually starting work on a new website for Super Cat and Wild Apache when I finally got the sad news from Cat that he was very sick.  I still can't really believe that Fred has passed on, but I am sure he is up there in heaven with a nice veggie curry and a big fat spliff.  The one thing that needs to be said here is that Fred stood for honor and integrity and this can not be forgotten.  He was simply a good person.  Fred Donner did a lot for the reggae business and indeed the future of reggae forever by showing that it was possible to move into any business setting or situation and still conduct your affairs with dignity and respect.  But most of all, Fred was my true friend and I will miss him.  Respect.                                                           James 'Ras J' McGurk, July 2004  COnneci

Since Fred has no permanent gravesite, this cross will serve as his marker on the web.

MORE PIX of FRED