The Bahamas

The Beginning of the End was a funk group from Nassau, Bahamas. The group formed in 1969. They were made up of three brothers: Roy Munnings – vocals & guitar; Ray Munnings – vocals & organ; & Frank Munnings – vocals, drums, & congas, along with their friend Fred Henfield – bass.

One of the very few funk/soul groups from The Bahamas, the Beginning of the End had one hit in 1971, the scintillating “Funky Nassau” which reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #7 on the Billboard Black Singles charts. They recorded an album of the same name that year which was released on Alston Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records). They are accompanied on the album by The Funky Nassau Horns, which included two of the brother’s cousins, Ralph Munnings & Freddie Munnings as well as Neville Sampson, Vernon Mueller, & Kenneth Lane. The band release a self-titled album in 1974 but it never attracted the attention of Funky Nassau & by 1975 they had dropped out of sight.

This album is along the lines of other 70s acts like James Brown, The Meters, or War. It’s great to hear how funk influenced music all over the world. This album doesn’t disappoint. Every track is invocative of fun & funky music, with plenty of brass, nice guitar solos, & a fantastic lead singer. He has an undeniably Caribbean accent that adds to the uniqueness of the sound.

The Beginning of the End – Funky Nassau, Alston Records SD 33-379, 1971.

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Side One –

Funky Nassau, Pt. 1
Funky Nassau, Pt. 2
Come Down
Sleep on Dream On
Surrey Ride

Side Two –

Monkey Tamarind
In the Deep
Pretty Girl
When She Made Me Promise

Enjoy,

NØ