Sunday Under Covers with Delroy Wilson
-
Artist:
-
Track:
Three months ago I posted William Bell's original recording. The story behind this track is fairly well-known. Formr child star Delroy Wilson's career had been on something of a decline since he had left Coxsone Dodd's Studio One. He had become something of a nomad (perhaps already enjoying too much the drink that eventually killed him at the age of 47), recording for Joe Gibbs, Dynamic, Bunny Lee, Keith Hudson, Niney the Observer and numerous others. Some of his records were still great, some were good, and a few were fairly average. By 1975, he was no longer the star he had been six or seven years before.
Meanwhile, a struggling producer called Anthony Folder bought a little-used rhythm from Lee Perry, that had been cut on Shenley Duffus without success. He changed the song title to "Have Some Mercy", let Delroy loose, and had a massive hit with it.
The record not only kick-started the second spell of stardom for Delroy, that lasted until the early eighties, but spawned a host of versions by the likes of Jah Lloyd, Augustus Pablo, Tommy McCook and numerous others; indeed, it was probably the first record to be so widely versioned in such a short space of time, a phenomenon that is now the mainstay of the Jamaican record industry
Comments (8)
This is such a beautiful track, reggae at its best. I hear some melodic similarity with William Bell's "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" but enough differences to make them two separate songs. From the surface noise here, I suppose you found probably a very rare 45. My presumably less rare TR International LP of Wilson's has a cleaner copy of the song.
This rip was taken from a 45 on the Lord Koos label. I wasn't aware that it had been leased to Prince Tony, but he did hoover up a few tunes from other producers in the mid-seventies, for example on Big Youth's "Dread Locks Dread" where only three tracks are both Prince Tony productions and feature Big Youth.
"Hoover it up" is a term I'm going to start using.
Here's another track, "Keep on Running," from the same LP, Greatest Hits, a false album title since all its tracks sound as if they're from the same recording session.
Spike-san, you have much to learn of the mysterious ways of the Jamaican producer. in a land where copyright rested with the person in possession of the sound recording alone, the term "Greatest Hits" generally means "He was desperate for cash, so I persuaded him to record twelve tunes and paid him $300. So what if six of them are covers of hits from three years ago?"
This version of "You Keep On Running" (originally released on Studio One as "You'll Never Get Away") was cut about 1972-73, and was released on A. Folder's Deejay label, the same label that released "Have Some Mercy". It was licensed from Edward "Bunny" Lee, and I suspect the album you have is credited to Bunny Lee as producer. It sounds like it was recorded at Randys, as incidentally was the original rhythm for "Have Some Mercy" in 1971.
Apologies, you've said it's on TR International. My guess is that Anthony Folder couldn't afford the pressing/distribution costs of an entire LP, so he sold the tunes he'd bought from Bunny Lee to Prince Tony, then riding high with Big Youth, U-Roy and the Gladiators.
Baudolino-san, I trust you on those details.
The cover says "TR INTERNATIONAL." The labels say "TR GROOVEMASTER." The labels also say, incorrectly, "45 R.P.M."
The back cover says: "Produced by A. FOWLER & T. ROBINSON/Recorded at: HARRY J. STUDIOS." A diagonal purple stamp says: "Manufactured in JAMAICA by TONY'S INTERNATIONAL RECORDS/45 Slipe Road;/Kingston 5/Jamaica W.I."
The label says: "PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY TONY ROBINSON/45 Slipe Road/Kingston, Jamaica/Tel:- 92-26821."
The front cover says. “Featureing:--- [sic]
SWEETS FOR MY SWEETS
and HAVE SOME MERCY”
The back cover says:
“SIDE ONE
SWEET FOR MY SWEETS
HAVE SOME MERCY
PABLO MERCY
KEEP ON RUNNING
I’M GLAD
SIDE TWO
CRYING OVER YOU
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE
CALL ON ME
DELROY WILSON SPECIAL”
The labels say:
“Side One
SWEET FOR MY SWEET
HAVE SOME MERCY
KEEP ON RUNNING
I AM GLAD
CALL ON ME
Side Two
CRYING OVER YOU
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE
PART TWO
PABLO MERCY"
Okay....."A. Fowler" is a misspelling of A. Folder. I'm prepared to accept it was recorded at Harry J, at least in part, although "Have Some Mercy" was still probably cut at Randys. Prince Tony released a dozen or so 12" singles in the very early days, so he must have used a 12" 45 label for the Lp, by just getting the printer to stamp Lp details onto label.
"Pablo's Mercy" should be a melodica instrumental cut of "Have Some Mercy" - am I right?
You are right.