My Boy Lollipop
Encyclopedia
"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written
in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop
group The Cadillacs
, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy
, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York
in 1956 by Barbie Gaye. A cover version, recorded eight years later by Jamaica
n teenager Millie Small, with very similar rhythm, became one of the top selling ska
songs of all time.
agreed to purchase the song from Spencer. Although not involved in writing the song, Levy and alleged gangster, Johnny Roberts listed themselves as the song's authors. In an effort to avoid sharing any royalties with Spencer, Levy removed Spencer from the original writing credits, later claiming that Robert Spencer was his pseudonym. The song caught the attention of one of Levy's partners, alleged mobster and music mogul, Gaetano Vastola
, aka "Corky." Vastola had recently discovered 14-year-old singer Barbie Gaye after hearing her sing on a street corner in Coney Island
, Brooklyn
. Vastola was so impressed that he immediately took her to meet legendary DJ Alan Freed
. Gaye sang a few songs for them and Freed was equally impressed. Vastola became Barbie Gaye's manager and within days, he acquired the sheet music and lyrics for "My Girl Lollypop" from Levy and gave them to Gaye, with no specific instructions except to be ready to perform it by the following week. Barbie Gaye brought the music to her singing coach who played the song for her on piano a couple of times. Gaye changed the title to "My Boy Lollypop." She added and deleted lyrics (like, "uh oh lollipop" instead of "my boy lollipop" on a few instances), shortened and lengthened notes, repeated certain lyrics ("I love ya, I love ya, I love ya so") and added all the non-lyrical sounds, (utterances) such as the "whoas" and "hibbity-ops".
When it came time to record, Gaye cut school and took the subway to a recording studio in Midtown Manhattan. Gaye met the three members of the session band, guitarist, Leroy Kirkland, saxophonist, Al Sears
and drummer, Panama Francis. The band leader, Kirkland, asked Gaye to sing the song for them. After listening to her, they changed parts of the original score to better match her vocal style. The generic rhythm & blues beat was replaced with a relatively new style becoming popularized by Jamaican musicians. The style was a mix of American jazz
and R&B, with calypso
and mento
. The four artists went into the studio and recorded the song in one take. The combination of Barbie Gaye's energy and youthful vocals, the band's legendary talent, Kirkland's willingness to take a chance with such a new style, and the creative freedom they enjoyed to make all the changes they did, resulted in a song that would have great significance and would help to define the music genre known as ska
.
The song was released as a single by Darl Records in late 1956. It was heavily played by New York radio DJ Alan Freed
, and listener requests made the song #25 on Alan Freed's Top 25 on WINS
, New York in November, 1956. The record sold in sufficient quantities locally to gain her a place in Freed's annual Christmas show at the New York Paramount
in December 1956, when she opened for Little Richard. The singer and songwriter, Ellie Greenwich
, then a teenager living on Long Island, was so taken by the record that she named herself Ellie Gaye when she embarked on her recording career.
, who was trying to find songs for his young artist, Millie Small, to record. Millie's version was recorded in a similar ska
/bluebeat-style, and in 1964 it became her breakthrough blockbuster hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #2. However they changed the spelling to read "lollipop" instead of "lollypop". The song also went to #1 in Republic of Ireland and #2 in the United States (on the Smash Record label). Considered the first commercially successful international ska
songs, Small's version of "My Boy Lollipop" sold over six million records worldwide and helped to launch Island Records
into mainstream popular music. It remains one of the best-selling reggae
/ska
hits of all time.
The record's arrangement is credited to Ernest Ranglin
, who also plays guitar on the recording. The saxophone solo from the original version was replaced by a harmonica solo that until recently was believed by many to be performed by the not-yet-famous Rod Stewart
. That claim now appears to be unfounded. Jimmy Powell
(of Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, and previously a member of The Rockin' Berries
) asserts that it was he who played this solo.
British reggae DJ David Rodigan
has stated that watching Millie Small perform the song at the Ready Steady Go!
TV show as a school boy initiated his lifelong passion for Jamaican music.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York; active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedoo", which was instrumental in attracting White audiences to Black rock and roll performers.-History:...
, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy
Morris Levy
Morris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...
, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1956 by Barbie Gaye. A cover version, recorded eight years later by Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n teenager Millie Small, with very similar rhythm, became one of the top selling ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
songs of all time.
The Barbie Gaye version
Record company executive Morris LevyMorris Levy
Morris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...
agreed to purchase the song from Spencer. Although not involved in writing the song, Levy and alleged gangster, Johnny Roberts listed themselves as the song's authors. In an effort to avoid sharing any royalties with Spencer, Levy removed Spencer from the original writing credits, later claiming that Robert Spencer was his pseudonym. The song caught the attention of one of Levy's partners, alleged mobster and music mogul, Gaetano Vastola
Gaetano Vastola (gangster)
Gaetano "Corky" Vastola is a New Jersey mobster who became an underboss for the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey.-Record mogul:In 1946, Vastola was arrested for burglary in New York City...
, aka "Corky." Vastola had recently discovered 14-year-old singer Barbie Gaye after hearing her sing on a street corner in Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Vastola was so impressed that he immediately took her to meet legendary DJ Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
. Gaye sang a few songs for them and Freed was equally impressed. Vastola became Barbie Gaye's manager and within days, he acquired the sheet music and lyrics for "My Girl Lollypop" from Levy and gave them to Gaye, with no specific instructions except to be ready to perform it by the following week. Barbie Gaye brought the music to her singing coach who played the song for her on piano a couple of times. Gaye changed the title to "My Boy Lollypop." She added and deleted lyrics (like, "uh oh lollipop" instead of "my boy lollipop" on a few instances), shortened and lengthened notes, repeated certain lyrics ("I love ya, I love ya, I love ya so") and added all the non-lyrical sounds, (utterances) such as the "whoas" and "hibbity-ops".
When it came time to record, Gaye cut school and took the subway to a recording studio in Midtown Manhattan. Gaye met the three members of the session band, guitarist, Leroy Kirkland, saxophonist, Al Sears
Al Sears
Al Sears was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.Sears's first major gig came in 1928 when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb's ensemble. Following this he played with Elmer Snowden , then led his own groups between 1933 and 1941...
and drummer, Panama Francis. The band leader, Kirkland, asked Gaye to sing the song for them. After listening to her, they changed parts of the original score to better match her vocal style. The generic rhythm & blues beat was replaced with a relatively new style becoming popularized by Jamaican musicians. The style was a mix of American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and R&B, with calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
and mento
Mento
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It has its roots in calypso and other Jamaican folk music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the...
. The four artists went into the studio and recorded the song in one take. The combination of Barbie Gaye's energy and youthful vocals, the band's legendary talent, Kirkland's willingness to take a chance with such a new style, and the creative freedom they enjoyed to make all the changes they did, resulted in a song that would have great significance and would help to define the music genre known as ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
.
The song was released as a single by Darl Records in late 1956. It was heavily played by New York radio DJ Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
, and listener requests made the song #25 on Alan Freed's Top 25 on WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
, New York in November, 1956. The record sold in sufficient quantities locally to gain her a place in Freed's annual Christmas show at the New York Paramount
Paramount Theater (New York City)
The Paramount Theatre was a noted movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway in the Times Square district of New York City. Opened in 1926, it was the premiere showcase for Paramount Pictures and also became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space...
in December 1956, when she opened for Little Richard. The singer and songwriter, Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
, then a teenager living on Long Island, was so taken by the record that she named herself Ellie Gaye when she embarked on her recording career.
The Millie Small version
Eight years later the song was "discovered" by Island Records founder, Chris BlackwellChris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
, who was trying to find songs for his young artist, Millie Small, to record. Millie's version was recorded in a similar ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/bluebeat-style, and in 1964 it became her breakthrough blockbuster hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #2. However they changed the spelling to read "lollipop" instead of "lollypop". The song also went to #1 in Republic of Ireland and #2 in the United States (on the Smash Record label). Considered the first commercially successful international ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
songs, Small's version of "My Boy Lollipop" sold over six million records worldwide and helped to launch Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
into mainstream popular music. It remains one of the best-selling reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
hits of all time.
The record's arrangement is credited to Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin O.D. is a Jamaican guitarist and composer. Best known for his session work at the famed Studio One, Ranglin helped give birth to the ska genre in the late 1950s...
, who also plays guitar on the recording. The saxophone solo from the original version was replaced by a harmonica solo that until recently was believed by many to be performed by the not-yet-famous Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
. That claim now appears to be unfounded. Jimmy Powell
Jimmy Powell (singer)
Jimmy Powell is a British former soul and rhythm and blues singer who recorded and performed throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and is best remembered as the lead singer of Jimmy Powell & The 5 Dimensions, a group that briefly included Rod Stewart.-Early life and career:Powell was born in Selly...
(of Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, and previously a member of The Rockin' Berries
The Rockin' Berries
The Rockin' Berries are a pop group from Birmingham, England, who had several hit records in the UK in the 1960s. A version of the group, emphasising comedy routines as well as music, continues to perform to the present day.-History:...
) asserts that it was he who played this solo.
British reggae DJ David Rodigan
David Rodigan
David Rodigan, born 24 June 1951 on a military base in Hanover, Germany, is a British radio DJ who also performs as a selector for his sound system...
has stated that watching Millie Small perform the song at the Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966...
TV show as a school boy initiated his lifelong passion for Jamaican music.
Cover versions and other uses
- SchlagerSchlagerSchlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
singer Heidi Bachert recorded a cover versionCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
, under the same title but with German lyrics, which entered the West German Top 20 on August 15, 1964, remaining there for 17 weeks, with #5 as top position The song was remade in 1974 by Maggie Mae reaching #17 on the German chart. - A French rendering entitled "C'est Toi Mon Idole" was recorded in 1964 by both French singer Agnès Loti and Québécois singer Renée Martel: the disc was Martel's first recording.
- In 1964 a Finnish rendering of "My Boy Lollipop" was recorded by Marion RungMarion RungMarion Rung is a Finnish pop singer. She is known to have represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 and 1973. Her 1962 Eurovision song placed 7th and in 1973, she managed to bring Finland's second best result ever in this contest, placing 6th...
; Lea Laven would record this version in 1976. - YugoslavYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
new waveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band VIA TalasVIA TalasVIA Talas were a former Yugoslav New Wave band notable as one of the participants of the Artistička radna akcija project...
released a cover version of the song in 1981, with lyrics in Serbian languageSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
entitled "Lilihip", on the Artistička radna akcijaArtisticka radna akcijaArtistička radna akcija is a new wave and punk rock compilation album released in late 1981 by Jugoton in SFR Yugoslavia...
various artists compilation. - A cover versionCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Bad MannersBad MannersBad Manners are an English 2 Tone ska band. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the UK pop scene through their bald outsized frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.They were at...
, re-titled "My Girl Lollipop (My Boy Lollipop)", was a UK Top 10 hit in 1982. - Glam rockGlam rockGlam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
band MudMudMud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...
released their own cover in the 1980s - An excerpt of the song was used as background music in a 50's style restaurant during the Miami ViceMiami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
season one finale episode "Lombard". - UK singer LuluLulu (singer)Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
released a version of the song on the Jive label in 1986 and reached #86 in the UK singles chart; not high enough to be considered a hit in the official top 75. - Argentinean all-girls band Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll had a huge hit in 1986 with their Spanish version called simply "Lolipop".
- Swedish dansbandDansbandDansband is a Swedish term for a band that plays dansbandsmusik . Dansbandsmusik is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by swing, schlager, country, jazz, and rock...
Lotta & Anders Engbergs OrkesterLotta & Anders Engbergs OrkesterLotta & Anders Engbergs Orkester was a dansband in Skara, Sweden which was active during the years 1989-1994, with Lotta Engberg as singer. She formed the band in 1989 with her former husband Anders Engberg, who already had a band in his own name. In 1993, the band was awarded a Grammis...
covered the song with lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
Swedish by Christer Lundh, as "På min sommaräng" ("On my summer meadow") with Lotta EngbergLotta Engberg-External links:* *...
on lead vocals, on the 1989 album Genom vatten och eldGenom vatten och eldGenom vatten och eld was released in 1989 and is a studio album from Swedish dansband Lotta & Anders Engbergs Orkester. Genom vatten och eld, a big 1989 hit, is also the first track on the album. The song Genom vatten och eld was written by Torgny Söderberg. The album peaked at #48 at the Swedish...
. This version also appears on the 2006 Lotta Engberg compilation Världens bästa LottaVärldens bästa lottaVärldens bästa lotta was released on March 22, 2006 and is an album from the Swedish dansband and pop singer Lotta Engberg. It is a double CD collection of some of her hits throughout the years...
. - In 1997, the song was featured in the Spice GirlsSpice GirlsThe Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
' film Spice World, showing the girls and two young competition winners singing along with the Millie record version in a speeding boat on the River ThamesRiver ThamesThe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. - Steven SeagalSteven SeagalSteven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
covered the song on his 2005 Songs from the Crystal CaveSongs from the Crystal CaveSongs from the Crystal Cave is a 2005 album by Steven Seagal, his first. Seagal is credited with "Lead Vocals, Rhythm and Lead Guitar" and appears on the cover and throughout the liner notes emotively playing and posing with a guitar...
album. The word "boy" has been exchanged for "girl" in the lyrics, and the song retitled to simply Lollipop. - A cover was done by ShivareeShivaree (band)Shivaree is an American alternative pop/rock band formed in 1997 consisting of Ambrosia Parsley , Danny McGough , and Duke McVinnie . Shivaree is best known for the song "Goodnight Moon", released in 1999 and appearing in Dawson's Creek and Kill Bill: Volume 2...
. - The King BluesThe King BluesThe King Blues are a punk band from London, England, credited for fusing ska and folk together with influences from punk rock and hardcore punk. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as 'rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of this country. A new generation of musicians are...
covered the song and included it on the 2008 album Under the FogUnder The FogUnder The Fog is the debut album by The King Blues, originally released by Household Name Records in 2006 and later re-released on Field Records, a subsidiary of Island Records in 2008. The album spawned two singles, "Mr. Music Man" and "Come Fi Di Youth"....
as a hidden track. - The German band die LollipopsDie LollipopsDie Lollipops is a children's band which formed in Germany in the summer of 2000 under the Edelkids label, a subsidiary of Edel Music. - Music :Their music can be divided into three basic types:...
has produced a song entitled Hallo Lollipop, set to the same melody as the original, but with lyrics in German. - Rush LimbaughRush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
used the song, with added sound effects, as the "Barney FrankBarney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
Update Theme" since the early 1990s. - In May 2009, it was reported that Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
had covered the song for Island RecordsIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
' 50th Anniversary album. - Ska band The SelecterThe SelecterThe Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
covered the song with different lyrics as "My Collie (Not A Dog)" on their 1980 album Too Much Pressure - Dionne BromfieldDionne BromfieldDionne Julia Bromfield is a British soul singer-songwriter. Bromfield's debut album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, was released in 2009 by Amy Winehouse's Lioness Records label...
covered this song on her debut album Introducing Dionne BromfieldIntroducing Dionne BromfieldIntroducing Dionne Bromfield is the debut album from British singer Dionne Bromfield. In September 2009, it was announced that Bromfield, then 13 years old was the first artist to be signed to her godmother Amy Winehouse's new record label Lioness Records...
in 2009.