Monday, April 19, 2004  

Derrick Harriott, "The Loser"
from Those Reggae Oldies (Crystal) and A Place Called Jamaica: Derrick Harriott's Productions '60s & '70s (M10)
Derrick Harriott, "Penny for Your Song"
Derrick Harriott / U-Roy "Penny for Your Dub"
from Those Reggae Oldies (Crystal)

Like Sam Cooke, Derrick Harriott has a tenor voice that's sweeter than yer honey. But unlike Cooke, Harriott is a Jamaican and not an American, hence relatively few folks outside of the reggae world know him, his work or his angelic voice.

Blogosphere peeps, meet Derrick Harriott.

The above photo is of Harriott in his record shop in Kingston, Jamaica. When I walked into Derrick Harriott's One Stop (Twin Gates Plaza, 25 1/2 Constant Spring Rd., Kingston 10), I was startled to see Mr. D sitting behind the counter, dubbing off some video cassettes as his store doubles as a DVD & VHS production house. (I wonder if he can score me some Beta copies of the entire Pink Lady and Jeff oeuvre.)

We started talking, and I told him about an article I was working on about jazz in Jamaica, and he told me that some of his favorite singers were Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine. Now, Eckstine had a voice that was lower than a slug's belly, so to hear Harriott crooning some of Baritone Billy's tunes in his absolutely crystalline tenor was one of the highlights of my trip.

These three tunes are among my favorites in the history of rock steady.

"The Loser" is probably Harriott's greatest work under his own name (he was also a super-fine producer for others; check this comp on Pressure Sounds). The song's greatness has as much to do with that slightly out-of-tune / out-of-time piano as it does his incredible vocals. Damn damn and a double damn: It's so damn good.

"Penny for Your Song" and its dub version, featuring one of JA's greatest deejays, U-Roy, are songs that I constantly sing around the house. I can't get the melody, Harriott's vox or U-Roy's toasts out of my cranium. Wifey-poo wants to shove a sock in my piehole, shut my tonedeafness up, mos def.

Since he doesn't have a Web site, call Harriott directly at 876-926-8027 to get Those Reggae Oldies on CD or LP, or go to the untouchable Ernie B's Reggae to snag the LP as well as many of his other recordings, including A Place Called Jamaica, and especially his early stuff with the Jiving Juniors, which is all but U.S. doo-wop. Big-Up Radio also sells a bunch of Harriott's musical chariots, including the Jiving Juniors' The Donkey Years comp for a mere $6.99.

For friends & fam looking for South African pix, I'm still trying to figure out how to batch process them to reduce their size, add a caption, and upload them pretty much all at once.

Thx to Flux and Tofu for linking to this site, but one correction to Dr. Soy's description: I rep Silver Spring, Md., (and, in spirit, Detroit Rock City), not NYC or South Africa. Just holdin' down the Georgia Ave. / Colesville corner....

Posted by CP | Link |

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