[2] Born in Sans Souci, Trinidad,[3] Mannette as a young child developed a passion for metal and tools for metalworking, and would become engaged in the evolution of the phenomenon of sounding steel.

Legend says that Mannette was the first person to use a discarded oil barrel to build a steel pan: "He sank the lid to create a tensed playing surface and fired the metal to improve the acoustic properties.

[2] In 1948, Mannette was formally offered a scholarship to study music in London which he turned down in order to be able to build more steel pans.

What was meant to be a guest-semester eventually turned into a longtime relationship called the University Tuning Project and later on the company Mannette Steel Drums.

[4] Furthermore, Mannette was the person to sink the top of the drum[10] into a concave shape, thus having more space to place notes as well as achieving a better isolation between the different pitches.

In November 2000, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies and returned home to Trinidad, after a 33-year absence, to accept it.