Smoke Two Joints
Encyclopedia
"Smoke Two Joints" is a song originally written by The Toyes
, who performed it in traditional Reggae
style and released it in 1983. According to The Toyes, "one fine fall day on a small island" of Oahu
in Hawaii
, two of the band members, Jim and Sandy, were sitting under a large banyan tree on Kuhio Beach, "tokin' on some sweet bud & jammin' on a rootsy reggae funky town" when they conceived the song "Smoke Two Joints."
For decades, the San Francisco radio station KFOG
has played the song at 5:00 pm every Friday. The song debuted on the Dr. Demento
syndicated radio program and quickly disappeared. The song was then rediscovered and first popularized on a commercial FM station by morning DJ Sea Bass at WXTB
in Tampa
, who began playing the song regularly as the opening music to his show. It was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown
. The Toyes version was featured in the 2005 video game NARC. The song is often mistakenly attributed to Bob Marley
on the internet and file sharing websites. Marley had been dead two years when this song was written.
, created two or more cover versions of this song in the 1980s. One was a studio LP, and another was a version featured on his live CD from 1994, both produced by Circumstantial Records, based in New York City. Norman first came across the song in 1983 when his friend Stush brought home the 45
as part of the music he had bought during a vacation in Hawaii. Nardini had his band learn it at once and has been performing the song for over twenty years. He wanted to air a cover version on CBS
in the 1980s, but the label could not track down the original writers.
/ska
band Sublime
performed a cover version on their 1992
debut album 40oz. to Freedom
. "Smoke Two Joints" was one of the first Sublime songs to be played on the radio
after "Date Rape". This cover includes samples
taken from the film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
(though this intro is typically removed when the song is played on the radio), of a bong
being used, and of the artists Eazy E and Just Ice. Bert Suzanka, the lead singer of The Ziggens
(a major influence on Sublime), is also sampled saying, "Smoke cigarettes 'til the day she dies!" The track is also featured on the 2003 film Grind
and is on the Grind motion picture soundtrack as a somewhat shorter version.
The Toyes
The Toyes are an American reggae band based in Grants Pass, Oregon. Their style has been described as a "cross between Bob Marley and Barenaked Ladies". They are perhaps most famous as the original songwriters and recorders of the song "Smoke Two Joints". It was originally recorded in 1983, and was...
, who performed it in traditional 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...
style and released it in 1983. According to The Toyes, "one fine fall day on a small island" of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, two of the band members, Jim and Sandy, were sitting under a large banyan tree on Kuhio Beach, "tokin' on some sweet bud & jammin' on a rootsy reggae funky town" when they conceived the song "Smoke Two Joints."
For decades, the San Francisco radio station KFOG
KFOG
KFOG is an FM radio station in San Francisco, California, broadcasting on 104.5 and sister station KFFG 97.7 FM MHz. The 97.7 transmitter is located near Cupertino, California, and it is a simulcast of 104.5 KFOG....
has played the song at 5:00 pm every Friday. The song debuted on the Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
syndicated radio program and quickly disappeared. The song was then rediscovered and first popularized on a commercial FM station by morning DJ Sea Bass at WXTB
WXTB
WXTB — branded 98 Rock — is a commercial radio station in the Tampa, Florida area. However the station can be heard as far north as Ocala and Williston due to its strong signal...
in Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, who began playing the song regularly as the opening music to his show. It was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown
Homegrown (film)
Homegrown is a 1998 comedy / thriller film. It was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starred Billy Bob Thornton, John Lithgow, and Hank Azaria.-Plot:...
. The Toyes version was featured in the 2005 video game NARC. The song is often mistakenly attributed to Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
on the internet and file sharing websites. Marley had been dead two years when this song was written.
Nardini cover version
Norman Nardini, based in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, created two or more cover versions of this song in the 1980s. One was a studio LP, and another was a version featured on his live CD from 1994, both produced by Circumstantial Records, based in New York City. Norman first came across the song in 1983 when his friend Stush brought home the 45
45
Year 45 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vinicius and Sabinus...
as part of the music he had bought during a vacation in Hawaii. Nardini had his band learn it at once and has been performing the song for over twenty years. He wanted to air a cover version on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the 1980s, but the label could not track down the original writers.
Sublime cover version
The punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/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...
band Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
performed a cover version on their 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
debut album 40oz. to Freedom
40oz. to Freedom
40oz. to Freedom is the 1992 debut album by the Southern California ska-punk band Sublime released by Skunk Records and again by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom received mixed critical reviews upon its first release, but has earned an improved public perception since...
. "Smoke Two Joints" was one of the first Sublime songs to be played on the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
after "Date Rape". This cover includes samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
taken from the film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American schlock melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett and David Gurian...
(though this intro is typically removed when the song is played on the radio), of a bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
being used, and of the artists Eazy E and Just Ice. Bert Suzanka, the lead singer of The Ziggens
The Ziggens
The Ziggens are a band based out of Orange County, California whose self-described style of "cowpunksurfabilly" combines elements of surf, rockabilly, punk, ska, and country. The Ziggens are led by Bert Susanka who sings and plays rhythm guitar. Other members include Dickie Little on lead guitar,...
(a major influence on Sublime), is also sampled saying, "Smoke cigarettes 'til the day she dies!" The track is also featured on the 2003 film Grind
Grind (2003 film)
Grind is a 2003 American adventureassshole movie comedy film about four young aspiring amateur skaters Eric Rivers , Matt Jensen , Dustin Knight , and Sweet Lou Singer who are trying to make it in the world of pro skateboarding by pulling insane stunts in front of pro skater Jimmy Wilson...
and is on the Grind motion picture soundtrack as a somewhat shorter version.
Other cover versions
- Richard Cheese performs a cover on his album TuxicityTuxicityTuxicity is the second album from Richard Cheese, released October 1, 2002. The title is a reference to the System of a Down album Toxicity.-Track listing:# "She Hates Me" – 1:43# "Fell in Love with a Girl" – 1:31...
. - The skaSkaSka |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...
punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The RudimentsThe RudimentsThe Rudiments are a ska and punk band from the East Bay, California.-Biography:The group was together in the 1990s, and were signed to Asian Man Records with other ska/punk artists of the era, such as Link 80 and MU330. They started out playing local shows and produced their first record with Dill...
perform a cover of this song on the album Psychoska which is preceded by a clip from a Cheech and ChongCheech and ChongCheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
movie. - South Park MexicanSouth Park MexicanCarlos Coy , better known by his stage name South Park Mexican, is an American rapper, founder of Dope House Records, and convicted felon...
created a cover version which can be found on The Purity AlbumThe Purity AlbumThe Purity Album is the 5th album released by Carlos Coy a.k.a. South Park Mexican. It was released on Dope House Records in 2000.-Track listing:#Dope House Intro - 1:39#You Know My Name - 4:44...
. - AfromanAfromanJoseph Edgar Foreman , better known by his stage name Afroman, is an American rapper who came to prominence with his singles "Because I Got High" and "Crazy Rap". "Because I Got High" circulated around the Internet before becoming a hit worldwide...
did a parody of the song called Smoke 2 Blunts
External links
- The Toyes' page about the song
- Letter from Brad Nowell to Mawg of the Toyes
- Scene from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls sampled by Sublime
- Grind (soundtrack)Grind (soundtrack)Grind is the soundtrack to the 2003 skateboarding film, Grind. It was released on August 12, 2003 through Atlantic Records and consisted of a blend of alternative rock, punk rock, hip hop and reggae music.-Track listing:...