IN the 1960s, Keble Drummond was a member of the Cables, one of many harmony groups that sprung up during the rocksteady era.

Drummond takes centre stage with the release of Mellow Moods of Music, his first album, which was released in August.

DRUMMOND… I choose songs that would inspire people, songs with meaning

The 66-year-old singer produced the 13-song album for his KDM Productions. It includes six original songs with the remainder being covers of pop standards such as Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers to Cross, The Beatles’ Let It Be, the Sam Cooke original A Change is Gonna Come and Smokey Robinson’s Cruising.

It took the St Elizabeth-born Drummond eight years to complete ‘Mellow Moods’, which features multi-instrumentalist Paul Gauntlett, saxophonist Tony Greene, trumpeter Chico Chin, and trombonist Derrick Hinds.

“I wasn’t in a rush… I change stuff, add stuff until I got it how I want it,” he said.

He was just as meticulous when it came to selecting the songs to cover.

“I choose songs that would inspire people, songs with meaning,” he said.

Mellow Moods of Music includes Drummond’s take on Baby Why, the horn-hooked tune the Cables recorded for producer Clement Dodd in 1968. He, Vincent Stoddart and Elbert Stewart formed the trio two years earlier and began recording for producer Linden Pottinger.

You Lied, a song they did for Pottinger, saw little action but when they moved to Studio One Baby Why hit the right note with party fans. Drummond wrote Baby Why and co-wrote the group’s follow-up hit, What Kind of World, with Stoddart. What Kind of World was also the title of their album for Dodd’s Studio One label.

After leaving Studio One, the Cables moved to producer Harry ‘Harry J’ Johnson for whom they recorded several singles, including a version of Baby Why.

Drummond migrated to the United States in 1979, settling in New York, and working with American Airlines for 25 years.

He reunites with Stoddart and Stewart for “one and two shows”. Their last performance was in Baltimore, Maryland, in July.