Last year I gave you a cover of "Duppy Jamboree" by the man Flip Kay and this year I give you the original hit by Levi Williams! This comes from a 1974 7" on the Mighty Cloud label produced by George McLean and backed by a studio band who called themselves the Mighty Cloud Band.
Interestingly enough the veteran reggae singer Al Campbell was a one time member of the "Mighty Cloud Band." I found an interview online with Campbell on the website Reggae-vibes.com and this is what he said about Duppy Jamboree...
"Q: What about the bands you used to play with in the seventies, like the Mighty Cloud Band for instance?
A: Yeah, me used to play with Mighty Cloud, me an' Ernest Wilson's bredda, Leonard Wilson.
Q: And the leader for that band was George McLean, also known as Bobby Mack.
A: Yeah. George McLean, 'Bobby Mack', yeh. Me used to sing with the band, vocalist, an' one day we're going to the studio an' I was always bangin' the piano. So when I going to the studio in the morning now, the keyboard player never turn up. So when the keyboard player never turn up, them call me an' seh, "Al, come here. All the while I hear yu bangin' the piano, come now an' ting, see if yu can hold this riddim ya for me". So me say, "Well, me is a one-hand player, yunno, me cyaan play with two hand". So him seh all right. So, him show me the key an' how the intro start an' the firs' song whe we play is a tune like 'If yu waan hear the duppy laugh, come a riverside Sunday morning...'. And the song was a number one in a Jamaica for weeks!
Q: That was this guy called Levi Williams.
A: Yeah."
Spooktacular Track Seventeen
Just found DJS via Countdown to Halloween. Love it! Scientist's "... Evil Curse of the Vampires." remains a seasonal (and all year round) dub favorite at The Typing Monkey.
ReplyDeleteThanks much for the music.