Oh Carolina

"Oh Carolina" is a 1958 song by John Folkes recorded by the Folkes Brothers in 1960 and in 1993 by Shaggy.

Folkes Brothers version

The original version of the song was recorded by Jamaican vocal trio the Folkes Brothers (John, Mico, and Junior Folkes), and was produced by Prince Buster at RJR studios in Kingston.^[1] The song was written by John Folkes in 1958 about his girlfriend (who was actually named Noelena).^[2] The group had met Buster while auditioning at Duke Reid's liquor store and Buster decided that he wanted to record the song.^[3] According to the brothers, Buster paid them £60 for the recording (Buster claims £100).^[2]

Buster travelled to the Wareika Hills to find a Niyabinghi group to play on a recording session, and brought Count Ossie and his group of drummers (Count Ossie's Afro-Combo) back to the studio, where they played on "Oh Carolina".^[1] "Oh Carolina" was a landmark single in the development of Jamaican modern music (ska, rocksteady and reggae) specially for the incorporation of African-influenced Niyabinghi-style drumming and chanting, and for the exposure it gave to the Rastas, who at the time were marginalized in Jamaican society.^[2][4] The track's piano riff was performed by Owen Gray.^[3] The single was licenced to Blue Beat Records for release in the UK in 1961.^[2]

The two tracks on the single (The B-side was "I Met a Man") were the only songs recorded by The Folkes Brothers as a trio.^[3] Mico and Junior Folkes re-recorded the song without John for the 2011 album Don't Leave Me Darling, the first release credited to the Folkes Brothers since the early 1960s.^[2] "Oh Carolina" was later reissued on the Prince Buster label. The song was also recorded in 1973 by Count Ossie, on his album Grounation.

Tracklisting

Original release

A: "Oh Carolina"
B: "I Met a Man"

'Prince Buster' label reissue

A: "Oh Carolina"
B: "Chubby" - Prince Buster and the All Stars

Other releases

"Oh Carolina" was also issued as the B-side to Prince Buster's "Madness" on a 1961 single on the Fab label, and was included on a 1978 12-inch single of "Big Five".

Shaggy version

"Oh Carolina"
Single by Shaggy
from the album Pure Pleasure
B-side	"Bow Wow Wow"
Released	March 22, 1993
Format	CD single
Recorded	1993
Genre	Reggae, reggae fusion
Label	Virgin, Greensleeves Records
Writer(s)	Henry Mancini, John Folkes
Producer(s)	Shaun Pizzonia
Shaggy singles chronology
"Oh Carolina" (1993) "Nice and Lovely" (1993)

"Oh Carolina" was covered by Jamaican musician Shaggy, released as the lead single from his 1993 debut album, Pure Pleasure. Produced by Sting International, it became an international hit. It was the first of Shaggy's four UK number one singles, spending two weeks at the top in March 1993.^[5] The song fared less well in the U.S., peaking at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song received major crossover airplay on American alternative rock radio, and as a result the song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[6]

Tracklisting

Charts and sales

Chart successions

Dispute over authorship

Following the success of Shaggy's version of the song, John Folkes was involved in a legal dispute with Prince Buster over the authorship. As was common with Jamaican releases of the era, the song was credited on the label to the producer, in this case 'C. Campbell' (Prince Buster), and Buster claimed that he had written the song about a former girlfriend.^[2] Folkes' claim was upheld in the UK high court in 1994.^[2]

Other cover versions

In 1997, the Montenegrin pop-group Monteniggers released a cover version of the song on Montenegrin language, with lyrics "So i tekila" (Salt and Tequila).

References