Another Ten Songs You May Not Know Are Covers: Pass the Dutchie (#3)

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Covers, covers everywhere! I'm always grateful for those of you who've read these, and I'm also thankful that you're responding favorably to some of these that are surprising you. Here's another one of those songs that you may not know was a cover when it became a hit. #3 - Pass the Dutchie I have to tell you, if you weren't around in 1982, you missed some seriously diverse music! We had everything from Ricky Skaggs putting country music back into country music to Toto's mega Toto IV album, the spectacular Joe Jackson Night and Day album, and...well, you name it, it was there. Despite the fact that FM radio was becoming more and more rigid with their playlists, there was MTV and a number of video shows (TBS used to have an all-night video show called "Night Tracks," where they'd show things that MTV wouldn't). Out of that mix came Musical Youth, a Jamaican group of kids (hence the youth part) who had an international hit in 1982 with "Pass the Dutchie." And, as with Annabella in Bow Wow Wow, there was a little bit of controversy thanks to the age of the band members. This time, it was more about what they were singing about. "Don't bogart that joint," indeed! But it wasn't their fault. "Pass the Dutchie" was a cover. In fact, it was a mash-up of two songs: "Pass the Kouchie," by the Mighty Diamonds, and "Gimme the Music" by U Brown. Picky Wedia says that U Brown released eleven albums in an eight-year period, and he now works as a producer. The Mighty Diamonds are a reggae trio that date to the late 1960s. "Pass the Kouchie" is an obvious marijuana reference ("How do you feel when you got no herb" was changed to "how do you feel when you got no food" for the sanitized Musical Youth version). If you need some assistance in figuring that out, the Mighty Diamonds were kind enough to include some, ahem, "sound effects" to help you. After the success of the Musical Youth version the two version were dubbed together, and there's a You Tube video of the Mighty Diamonds doing both songs. Musical Youth had one other major US hit, "Unconditional Love" with Donna Summer. Patrick Waite, one of the original members, died of a hereditary heart issue at the age of 24. Two original members keep the band going (although I guess they're "Musical Middle Age" now ), still performing the hit that combined two reggae covers into one for a memorable cover. Pass the Dutchie Originally "Pass the Kouchie" and "Gimme the Music" Written by Bunny Simpson and Judge Ferguson (Pass the Kouchie) and Hugh Brown (Gimme the Music) Originally recorded by the Mighty Diamonds (Pass the Kouchie, 1982) and U Brown (Gimme the Music, 1982) Famously covered (and mashed up) by Musical Youth, 1982 Here's "Gimme the Music." I'll post "Pass the Kouchie" in a reply.