"Silly Games" by Janet Kay, Lover's Rocks Finest

I Miss Music pays homage to a well-deserved Throw Back Choon, Silly Games by Janet Kay

Listening to this the other week brought back some delightful childhood memories and some old skool dance moves. 1979 was the release date of Silly Games for British Queen of Lover's Rock, Janet Kay. I was just a 'liccle yout' back then, but with its chart topping status, mainstream radio play and the 12 inch vinyl copy being owned (or on loan) in the home of almost every West Indian family I knew, Silly Games was both popular and unforgettable.

I particularly remember this choon being played at every West Indian houseparty... Adults and children rubbing out someone's poor living room carpet with their shoes because it was "their song", everyone knew the words and the traditional Lover's Rock bud dah, bud ah, doof , ching ching beat. Folks would try and sing in the same high key as Janet, sounding like alley cats, but without a care in the world because they were feeling the vibe.

Silly Games is still frequently played at clubs on Ragga/Dancehall nights, as a revival choon. My kids 21 and 11 were not impressed as I drowned Silly Games into their ears. What do the youth of today know about great music classics huh? Recognise!

Odyssey- If You're Looking For A Way Out

“If You're Looking For A Way Out” RCA Records, is the timeless classic ballad from New York dance group Odyssey. I was only six when this song charted the UK charts in 1980 and I paid it little attention, favouring their more upbeat tracks like "Use It Up, Wear It Out" and "Native New Yorker" but adulthood made me appreciate Lillian Lopez's vocal storytelling much more.

"Oh baby tell me I'm wrong
Just say I'm crazy
It's with you that I belong.
It's never easy when lovers have to part.
Oh come on stop pretending
Tell me what's in you heart.
And if you're looking for a way out
I won't stand here in your way.
But if you're looking for a way out"

The songs narrative tells of a woman sensing something is wrong in her relationship (“...Your kisses taste the same, but its just a sweet disguise...”) and giving her lover the option, the 'green light' to walk away, although she's obviously still deeply in love with him.

Vocalist Lillian Lopez passed away on September 4^th 2012 after a battle with cancer.

Marvin Gaye! 28 years gone but never forgotten

Today marks 28 years since the passing of Motown legend, Marvin Gaye. I was just nine years old back in 1984 when news broke that the 44 year old singer had been shot by his father. I remember elder family members shocked reaction vividly, just as my daughter will remember my shocked reaction at the news of Michael Jackson passing, Amy Winehouse and even the recent death of Whitney Houston.
  Cheap Marvin Gaye CD's at Amazon



Watch Mr Gaye perform "Let's Get It On" for Soul Train in 1974, the year I was born.

Although I was familiar with the constantly played 1982 Award winning “Sexual Healing” back then as a child. It was in my late teens, early twenties when I became a fan of his earlier stuff. Soul, gospel, blues and that three octave range he had made his music timeless and forever sexy. “Let's Get It On” ? Even young bloods who probably don't know who Marvin Gaye is are making out to that record.

My personal favourites are as follows:

ABRAHAM, MARTIN AND JOHN

LET'S GET IT ON

YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY (WITH TAMMI TERREL)

GOT TO GIVE IT UP (PART 1)

HOW SWEET IT IS TO BE LOVED BY YOU

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPVINE

THE ONION SONG (WITH TAMMI TERREL)

SEXUAL HEALING

Sundays Song: Poison Bell Biv Devoe

Don't ask me why this song is in my head this Sunday, maybe it's the heat of the Spring hitting me after such a long cold Winter.  Beats, Swing, Hip Hop delicious.  'Poison' was released in 1990 and all headz were pumping out to this classic.  Even the ladies were quite happy to sing "Never trust a big but and a smile".  Check out the clothes and the hair in the above video, not forgetting the dance moves. Choon!

"Who The Cap Fit" by Bob Marley, the King of Reggae

Bob Marley's music is just as popular after his death (1981), as it was back in the 1970's. He, along with his group The Wailers created music that inspired people spiritually and politically. As an English child of Jamaican parents, Bob Marley's music was featured a lot in my childhood, especially as my father was a Rastafarian. No party of family or friends, of the West Indian culture went without a good old Bob Marley song. As well as the popular ones, “Could You Be Loved”, “Waiting In Vain”, “I Shot The Sheriff” amongst others, it was “Who The Cap Fit” that was my favourite as a child and now as an adult.

I was just a toddler when the Rastaman Vibration, which features “Who The Cap Fit” was released in 1976 and as a child it was the chorus and the melodies of Bob's backing singers (The Melody Makers) that captured my attention. It would be in my early teen years, when I developed a heavy interest in the lyrics of songs that “Who The Cap Fit” became more special to me.

“Man to man is so unjust, children:

Ya don't know who to trust. 

Your worst enemy could be your best friend, 

And your best friend your worse enemy”.

Growing up and having experienced a helluva lot of 'backstabbing' by so-called friends and loved ones, every word Bob sings hits the heart, still to this very day. The line ...

“But who Jah bless, no one curse...” is the symbolism of the song for me. If you're blessed by God (Jah), nobody can bring you down or destroy you.

Click here to listen to "Who The Cap Fit"

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