Julianne Lee-Samuels, Lee's daughter and co-chair of the Byron Lee Foundation, told the Sunday Observer that she is disappointed her father's name is missing from the list of commemorative events planned this year.
"Where is the recognition for Byron Lee? Every day Jamaica's musical history is being re-written and people like my father are left out," Lee-Samuels said.
Byron Lee died in November 2008 at age 73 after a long fight with cancer.
He is best known as the founder and leader of the Dragonaires, a band he formed in 1955 while a student at St George's College in Kingston.
The band still performs as Byron Lee's Dragonaires and is scheduled to kick off a series of shows on March 9 at the New Mas Camp in
St Andrew.
Lee-Samuels said her father's accomplishments have been neglected for too long.
She added that he has never been given his due as a bandleader, administrator and businessman.
That is where the Byron Lee Foundation comes in. It was established in 2008, shortly after his death but was not functional until last year when it staged a tribute concert featuring the Dragonaires, the Bare Essentials and Fabulous
Five bands.
According to Lee-Samuels, the organisation -- which is also chaired by Lee's widow Sheila and his son Byron Lee Jnr -- is currently documenting Lee's enduring career.
They trace his early years with the Dragonaires, his role in the ska movement as well as his involvement
as a Jamaican in Trinidad Carnival.
Lee made several trips to Trinidad and Tobago during the 1970s when he worked with several of that country's leading performers, most notably the Mighty Sparrow.
Special attention, Lee-Samuels noted, will be given to his role as founder of Jamaica Carnival which he launched amid islandwide fanfare in 1990.
"He was always proud of that. For Daddy it was a fusion of music and people," she said.
Jamaica Carnival has not been held since Lee's death, but Lee-Samuels insists the festival is not over.
"It won't be held this year, but the door is definitely not closed on the show," she said.
Shortly before his death, Byron Lee was awarded the Order of Jamaica by the Government for his contribution to Jamaican music.
-- Howard Campbell
Lee overlooked, says daughter
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Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Lee-overlooked--says-daughter_10883787
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