Toots Hibbert - Love Attack (Mango)

A Jamaican - US connection

Today a song that's deep as deep can be. A song from the 1988 album "Toots In Memphis".
Toots pulls out the best he has, what a voice.
Toots (Frederick Hibbert) one of the 3 Maytals, started singing at an early age. He tried to record as a solo artist, so where his 2 later partners, but they where kicked out of every recording studio when they auditioned. But after these three guys joined up, they where to hot to handle. There first release the religious orientated "Hallelujah' was a smash ska hit.Toots sang many emotional deep ballads with the Maytals in there early days, but on this one his voice, to me is the best.
One of those early ballads was "Daddy" which became world known in 1972, but it's original Jamaican release was in 1964.

Info Toots In Memphis CD

Check Out The Rest Of The Songs

Follow above links to discover who the contributing musicians where on this release (some big names) or listen to sound clips of the rest of the album.

Get it here: Love Attack :-)
Maytals

Jimmy James - Come To Me Softly (original Jamaican version) '63

Jimmy James (Michael James) a US born lived most of his first 25 years in Jamaica, moving to London in 1965.
He already had 2 hits without the Vagabonds before he was asked by the them to become their lead singer. This song was his second hit. The other was Bewildered & Blue. The group on both songs is Hersang & His Combo the top band of that time on Jamaica

Come to Me Softly was redone many times. The US version is the best known. But there's also an other US version released on the Sundown label which to me comes second next to the Jamaican original.
I don't like the Atco version, maybe you'll understand after you've heard the original.

Jimmy James Information Link

Come To Me Softly – Jimmy James

Brook Benton - Give Me A Sign (Epic Lp) '59

Brook Benton (Benjamin Franklin Peay) Has A Long Musical History

I love this guys voice. His nick name back home was;
"The Man With The God Given Voice".
I don't know if this name came over from the US but that's how he was called. Listening to this song you'll understand why, right from the start. Brook, to me, is among the greatest voice that ever recorded. This song is from his Epic album "At His Best" from 1959.
The album and some extra songs are on this CD Only_1_Cent

His first solo recordings where in 1955. The story goes that Brook Benton recorded over 500 demo's for songwriters and recordings studio's (many of them for Clyde Otis) before he himself made it as a singer.
I've always wondered which songs he did and which singers recorded those demo's eventually. I hope someday these demo's will be found and put on a cd for all to hear.
In my search on information I found the following:

An Interesting Essay On Brook Benton by Dr. Herwig Gradischnig, this is a great essay. I can say I feel the same way about Brook Benton his voice and his songs. I could have written this :-). When you open this link, all the orange links at the top of the page, give you other interesting info on Brook Benton

The Song: Give Me A Sign by The Man With The God Given Voice

A Clip from the Movie Mr Rock & Roll

If Only I Had Known (Vik)

Ken Boothe-Strait Of Gibraltar (Studio One)'68

Ken_Boothe_Site_Discography & General_Information


Ken Boothe started recording in 1963 at the age of 12 as a duo. He had already been in the "business" before that.

Ken is still active and has gone into gospel to.




Many Caribbean/South American artist did not make it outside there own musical region. Of the few that made it Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy James and Laurel Aitken are the best known.

One of my coming posts will be on Jimmy James and the original Jamaican version of "Come To Me Softly" released in 1963 long before the US version hit the market.

AN OTHER DEEPIE - Strait Of Gibraltar

from the Studio One 1968 album

Billy "Country Boy" Young - He Can Never Love You (Like I Do) Joyja 244

Love this soul man and his voice, he wrote some great deepies for us. Todays song
really gets to me every time I play it (which I do quiet often)

Here's A Great_Blog_With_Billy_Young_Post_&_Downloads

Billy Young owned his own record label (Joyja). This song was released on that label. But he was discovered by Otis Redding and recorded on Otis his Jotis label in 1965.
Billy Young died on August 18, 1999.

He_Can_Never_Love_You_(Like_I_Do)_pt_1