Saturday, May 28, 2016

Day 210 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - The Paragons - On The Beach

Keeping with the summer theme for the next couple days in celebration of the first weekend of summer!  Today's track, "On The Beach" by the Paragons, is is one of those tunes that gives you that warm, sunny and joyful feeling whenever you hear it... a feel-good rocksteady classic!  The Paragons comprised of Bob Andy, John Holt and Howard Barrett started recording at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle in 1964 and by the time rocksteady rolled around these guys backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics were popping off crucial records at an alarming rate... "Wear You To The Ball," "The Tide Is High," "Quiet Place" and today's track "On The Beach" are all topflight classics!  Take off your shoes, soak in the sun and let's go and have some fun, on the beach where there's a party!  Of note... for years the lyric "One more box of happs says the man to the bartender" had confounded me.  Come to find out that Happs was a beer readily available in Jamaica at the time the song was written and asking for a box of Happs is akin to sliding up to the bar and announcing, "give me another!"  A sentiment that I think a lot of us can agree with.

1 comment:

Paper Tiger said...

Just discovered your great blog when I searched for this song. I was also initially confused by the lyric (although I guessed correctly) so very happy to find confirmation here! I think this song has an enchanting bittersweet melody - do you know if anyone else ever covered it? I can't find any other recordings of it. Very much looking forward to exploring your blog further - I'm also a huge fan of Jamaican music. THANKS! - J