Day 324 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Snowball Brown - So So Bandolo
We're gonna zip ahead quite a few years while remaining anchored with the Soul Vendors again... the backing track for today's tune, "So So Bandolo" by the artist Clive "Snowball" Brown, was originally done by the Soul Vendors in 1968 and released on their Studio One LP Evening Time under the title "One Step Beyond." In 1979, during the early stages of the Studio One "riddim mining" and refurbishment era, Coxsone stepped right into the fray by having Freddie McGregor record "Bobby Babylon" on the rocksteady riddim from eleven years prior. It was a huge hit and almost immediately "One Step Beyond" became known as "Bobby Babylon" and spurred an enormous amount of versions by nearly every dancehall producer from the era. Now that's not even taking into account the short time the riddim was known as Hi Fashion when it was rehashed by Dillinger for his Christmas tune "Hi Fashion Christmas." I'm not able to figure out which one came first but you ask anyone who pays attention to riddims and they'll probably call it Bobby Babylon. So let's get to the tune, trying to decipher the chronology is making my head hurt... released as a 7" on Studio One sometime after 1979, this is one hell of a catchy tune. I find myself singing the Bandolo refrain in my head for hours after I listen to this one.
