Half-remembered Caribbean pop hit
October 6, 2015 6:50 PM Subscribe
There has been a song on the tip of my mental tongue, as it were, for about three weeks now and I am hoping some genius mefite can recognize it from my fragmentary description. It is Caribbean in flavour and I am 90% sure it was recorded in the sixties. Unfortunately about all I have is part of the chorus.
It is a male singer, and the tiny bit that I can recollect is seemingly at the end of the chorus, with two short rising "Whoh"s as quarter notes -- that is, "Whoh" (two-three-four), "Whoh" (two-three-four) "$Final_Line" (which may be the song title). That final line feels brief -- maybe three to five words.
The little bit of it I can retrieve sounds vaguely Caribbean, but I think it is a Caribbean-inflected pop tune that got airplay in the US and Canada. (It is far enough back in my memory that I must have heard it long before I had heard much more authentic stuff like Prince Buster or Junior Byles.) This same sense that it is at the far end of a lengthy span of memory suggests it was recorded by the early seventies at the latest. When I try to hear the rest of it in my head, my internal soundtrack shifts it to either Desmond Dekker's Israelites or Chubby Checker's Limbo Rock, so that might help people get a sense of the feel.
It is a male singer, and the tiny bit that I can recollect is seemingly at the end of the chorus, with two short rising "Whoh"s as quarter notes -- that is, "Whoh" (two-three-four), "Whoh" (two-three-four) "$Final_Line" (which may be the song title). That final line feels brief -- maybe three to five words.
The little bit of it I can retrieve sounds vaguely Caribbean, but I think it is a Caribbean-inflected pop tune that got airplay in the US and Canada. (It is far enough back in my memory that I must have heard it long before I had heard much more authentic stuff like Prince Buster or Junior Byles.) This same sense that it is at the far end of a lengthy span of memory suggests it was recorded by the early seventies at the latest. When I try to hear the rest of it in my head, my internal soundtrack shifts it to either Desmond Dekker's Israelites or Chubby Checker's Limbo Rock, so that might help people get a sense of the feel.
(The chorus goes "Whoa, so is life, whoa, so is life.")
posted by tomboko at 7:10 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by tomboko at 7:10 PM on October 6, 2015
"Israelites," by Desmond Dekker and the Aces?
edit: Sorry, I didn't read your question to the end. My bad.
posted by ogooglebar at 7:12 PM on October 6, 2015
edit: Sorry, I didn't read your question to the end. My bad.
posted by ogooglebar at 7:12 PM on October 6, 2015
Response by poster: No, it is not as upbeat as the Belafonte one. Thanks for the suggestion.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:13 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:13 PM on October 6, 2015
Response by poster: And as I say, it is not Israelites, but it feels a bit like that.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:15 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:15 PM on October 6, 2015
Could it be Toots and the Maytals' Pressure Drop? I've always thought it sounded really close to Israelites.
posted by Miko at 7:20 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by Miko at 7:20 PM on October 6, 2015
Response by poster: Both still a little more buoyant than what is in my head.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:23 PM on October 6, 2015
Still pretty buoyant but would it be Typically Tropical and Barbados?
posted by merocet at 7:35 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by merocet at 7:35 PM on October 6, 2015
Famous pop tune from years ago? First thing I thought of was Finley Quaye's cover of Sunday Shining (60s feel but it's def from the 90s, and has a rock beat and descending 'whoa's, and it has nothing to do with Limbo Rock or Israelites that I can see [though I don't hear much in common between those two, myself, tbh]).
Or maybe Jump in the Line, which is upbeat, but probably got airplay when Beetlejuice came out (and does sound like Limbo Rock to me)?
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:35 PM on October 6, 2015
Or maybe Jump in the Line, which is upbeat, but probably got airplay when Beetlejuice came out (and does sound like Limbo Rock to me)?
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:35 PM on October 6, 2015
Well, I'm gonna venture Coconut, just in case the "whoh"s are misremembered "doctor"s.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 9:42 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 9:42 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Random left field guess, but if I can switch the "Whoa" to "Oh no" and have the final line be the 6 word "I've got to keep on moving" then I could see it as part of Break My Stride. It's got that Caribbean tinged pop feel you mention.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:52 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:52 PM on October 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Maybe this is too obvious/distinct, but it fits the timeframe and got commercial radio play in the U.S. & Canada: Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Maker"?
posted by lisa g at 11:32 PM on October 6, 2015
posted by lisa g at 11:32 PM on October 6, 2015
How about Ziggy Marley "Give a Little Love"? I think it covers the 'whoas' and has that last line kick. A bit poppy.
posted by sagwalla at 4:56 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by sagwalla at 4:56 AM on October 7, 2015
Response by poster: Nothing ringing a bell so far (but some nice tunes).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:47 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:47 AM on October 7, 2015
Early seventies "Caribbean-inflected pop tune" makes me wonder if it might be something by Robert Palmer, though I can't think of a specific song that meets the rest of the description.
posted by bricoleur at 9:11 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by bricoleur at 9:11 AM on October 7, 2015
Whoa oh oh oh, for the longest time? Doo wop, not caribbean, but maybe.
posted by MsMolly at 10:50 AM on October 7, 2015
posted by MsMolly at 10:50 AM on October 7, 2015
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posted by tomboko at 7:04 PM on October 6, 2015