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Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 " (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
"Israelites" is a song written by Desmond Dekker and Leslie Kong that became a hit for Dekker's group, Desmond Dekker & the Aces, reaching the top of the charts in numerous countries in 1969. Sung in Jamaican Patois, some of the song's lyrics were not readily understood by many British and American listeners at the time of its release. Despite this, the single was the first UK reggae #1 and among the first to reach the US top ten. It combined the Rastafarian religion with rude boy concerns, to make what has been described by Allmusic as a "timeless masterpiece that knew no boundaries".
"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band the Wailers.
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released in 1974 as the first single from his debut album, Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs (1974), on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album, Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album, with "Hard Times" as the B-side.
"Mother and Child Reunion" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his second studio album, Paul Simon (1972), released on Columbia Records. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1972.
"Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon, and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It's You" was by the band Smith, who took the track to No.5 on the US charts in 1969.
"Barbados" is the debut single by British band Typically Tropical, released in May 1975.
"If I Were a Carpenter" is a folk song written by Tim Hardin in the 1960s, and re-recorded with commercial success by various artists including Bobby Darin, The Four Tops and Johnny Cash. Hardin's own recording of the piece appeared on his 1967 album Tim Hardin 2. It was one of two songs from that release performed by Hardin at Woodstock in 1969. The song, believed by some to be about male romantic insecurity, is rumored to have been inspired by his love for actress Susan Morss, as well as the construction of Hardin's recording studio.
"Feels Like I'm in Love" is a song written and recorded by Ray Dorset with his band Mungo Jerry. It was a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in September 1980 for Scottish singer Kelly Marie.
"Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by American singer Tina Turner and released as the B-side to her 1986 hit single "Typical Male". It has since been included on Turner's compilation album The Collected Recordings: Sixties to Nineties (1994), as well as featuring in the Tina musical since 2018.
"Double Barrel" is a 1970 reggae single by Dave and Ansell Collins. It was the second reggae tune to top the UK charts, two years after Desmond Dekker's number 1 breakthrough hit "Israelites". The record reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for the first two weeks in May 1971, selling 300,000 copies, after only 33 radio plays. In the U.S., "Double Barrel" peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 7 August 1971 and number 4 on WLS on 28 June 1971, two years to the week after "Israelites" made a nearly identical climb to peak at the same position on the same chart. The record also reached number 1 in Mexico on October 23, 1971 and number 8 in Australia.
"Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae song by 10cc. Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, it was the lead single from the band's 1978 album, Bloody Tourists.
"Big Time" is a song by Italian Eurodance project Whigfield, which was fronted by Danish-born singer Sannie Charlotte Carlson. It was written by Annerley Gordon, Alfredo Larry Pignagnoli, Davide Riva and Paul Sears and produced by Pignagnoli and Riva. The song was released in July 1995 by X-Energy Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Whigfield (1995). For the British market, the song was released as a double A-side single with "Last Christmas", a cover of the English duo Wham!, and reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. In other countries, "Big Time" peaked within the top 10 in Canada and was a top-20 hit in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
"Love of the Common People" is a song written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, eventually released in 1970 on John Hurley's album John Hurley Sings about People, but first sung in January 1967 by the Four Preps. The Four Preps' recording was not a hit, but, later in 1967, the Everly Brothers and Wayne Newton would each issue their versions of the song, both of which "bubbled under" in the US charts; Newton's version peaked at No. 106, the Everlys' at No. 114. However, the Everly Brothers' recording was a major hit in Canada, peaking at No. 4. In 1968, Irish artist Joe Dolan with backing group the Drifters recorded a version which hit the top 10 on the Irish Singles Chart, but did not chart elsewhere.
"You Can Get It If You Really Want" is a reggae song written and originally recorded by Jamaican singer songwriter Jimmy Cliff and released as a single in July 1970. Another version, recorded by Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker and released within a few weeks of Cliff's version, became a hit single in a number of markets, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
"007 (Shanty Town)" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Jamaican band Desmond Dekker and the Aces, released as a single from their debut album of the same name. It was also a hit for Musical Youth in 1983. "007 (Shanty Town)" has been called "the most enduring and archetypal" rude boy song. Its title and lyrics refer to the cool imagery of films such as the James Bond series and Ocean's 11, admired by "rudies".
"Sing a Little Song" is a song written and performed by Jamaican musician Desmond Dekker. It was released as a single in 1975.
References
- 1 2 Bradley, Larry (4 November 2014). "The 1960s: Desmond Dekker & the Aces - "It Mek". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84403-789-6.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 149. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 3 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 258. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ Cassidy, F. G. and R. B. Le Page, 2002. A Dictionary of Jamaican English. University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 976-640-127-6.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces – It Miek" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces – It Miek" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces – It Miek" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces – It Miek" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces – It Miek" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts D". South Africa Rock Lists. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ↑ "Desmond Dekker and the Aces: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Top 100 1969 - UK Music Charts". www.uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
