But others point to the 1970s as Andy’s peak. For them, it does not get any better than ‘Fire Burning’ or ‘Check It Out’, powerful songs that lamented Jamaica’s social transformation.
Five years after Andy’s death at age 75, his son Godfrey Anderson, is staging an “edutainment” event dubbed ‘Celebrating The Life’s Work of A Lyrical Genius’, in Kingston on October 28. He hopes it will show Bob Andy is more than ‘Songbook’, the hallowed 1970 compilation album of his Studio One songs.
“Fans can expect to be taken on a musical journey into his career as it relates to his life. It is urgently important to keep my father’s legacy alive. Because, for the previous generation the name Bob Andy had unfairly been synonymous with one thing, the Bob Andy ‘Songbook’,” said Godfrey, a United States Army veteran who lives in South Florida. “However, his body of work has had at least 65 covers by others, including international artistes such as Taj Mahal and Eddie Lovette.”
Taj Mahal, the legendary bluesman, covered ‘Desperate Lover’ in 1974. That song can also be found on ‘Songbook’, while Lovette, an American who lived in Jamaica, put his spin on ‘Too Experienced’.
Interestingly, Godfrey says younger reggae fans associate ‘Too Experienced’ with Barrington Levy, who covered that song with great success in 1990.
“For this generation, whenever they hear songs like ‘Too Experienced’, which has been deemed a classic by reggae lovers and music connoisseurs alike, they automatically think of Barrington Levy. This celebration is partly to ‘edutain’ them,” he said.
‘Celebrating The Life’s Work of A Lyrical Genius’ is likely to shed light on less-documented aspects of Bob Andy’s life. Those include being an original member of a pre-John Holt Paragons, before he moved to Studio One and enjoyed chart success.
While at Studio One, Andy met Marcia Griffiths with whom he had a creative and romantic relationship that produced songs like ‘Truly’ and ‘Melody Life’, which he wrote.
‘Celebrating The Life’s Work of A Lyrical Genius’ is a personal statement for Godfrey Anderson.
“Because of legal constraints, I personally have resisted staging a single event honouring my father since his life ended. I would describe my father as a diamond in the rough who graced this planet way before he was meant to, whose music transcends cultures and generations,” he said.
(Photo contributed)