Day 345 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Simple Simon - Christopher Columbus

And since today is officially Columbus Day, we'll give that subject matter another visit.  This one is called appropriately "Christopher Columbus" and it comes from the singjay Simple Simon.  Now if you've got minimal reggae experience you'll hear this one and immediately think that I've screwed up because you'll believe that who you're hearing is Eek A Mouse.  But believe me, it ain't Eek A Mouse.  Simple Simon obviously owes a lot, if not everything, to the popularity of Eek in the early 80s and his trademark delivery style which he mimics with near perfection.  But when the question comes up; who came first the Mouse or the Simon you invariably have to say the Mouse.  Regardless, Simple Simon, whose real name I have been unable to uncover, recorded an original version of "Christopher Columbus" riding the Full Up riddim for Joseph Hoo Kim at Channel One and had it released as a single on the Hitbound label in 1983.  The version you're going to hear today was the one he did for Bunny Lee and was included on his album Reggae Move on the Vista Sounds label two years later.  Reggae Move came out in 1985 and due to the fact that is sounds completely devoid of any digital influence like most records from the era, it leads me to believe that it was actually done a couple years before, probably soon after he did the original.  Shit, both takes were recorded at Channel One so maybe he did them both during the same session... the world may never know.   This is a great tune, give it a listen!  We'll ease back into the spooky stuff this week!