{"id":3907,"date":"2010-11-05T11:55:58","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T15:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=3907"},"modified":"2021-02-13T10:16:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T15:16:18","slug":"my-20-favourite-bahamian-songs-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2010\/11\/my-20-favourite-bahamian-songs-of-all-time","title":{"rendered":"My 20 Favourite Bahamian Songs of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Ian Strachan<\/p>\n<p>These songs are not in any particular order.\u00a0 And this list is entirely subjective.\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t do any research at all.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t know how many records or CDs were sold or how long it took for the songs to drop out of regular rotation.\u00a0 I&#8217;m going with all my favourites.\u00a0 Feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree. And I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if I got the titles of a few of these wrong either, so sorry in advance if I do.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"bahamasb2b-20\";\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"bahamian music\";\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\namzn_assoc_linkid = \"97df09121bd496b543bdd3de7c7a7c35\";\namzn_assoc_design = \"in_content\";\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 &#8220;Going to Cat Island&#8221; by Exuma the Obeah Man. Exuma is one of my favourite Bahamian musical artists.\u00a0 A man who is, in my opinion, under-celebrated.\u00a0 But then again, we don&#8217;t celebrate artists, so what do I expect?\u00a0 This song beats out some of my other favourites by him like &#8220;Walking Home&#8221; and &#8220;Rude Boy.&#8221;\u00a0 Maybe it&#8217;s the harmonica. (Or was that a concertina?).<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0 &#8220;Down Home&#8221; by Phil Stubbs.\u00a0 I was torn between this and &#8220;West End Move.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0 I think &#8220;Down Home&#8221; wins though.\u00a0 &#8220;When I&#8217;m walkin down those rocky narrow dirt roads\/wit&#8217; a basket of potatoes on my head&#8221; . . . what an opening.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0 &#8220;I Ain&#8217;t Askin&#8217; for Much&#8221; by Ancient Man.\u00a0 This artist is aptly named.\u00a0 His singing voice takes us back to another Bahamas.\u00a0 And this song took Goombay music or Rake n Scrape to a higher level.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0 &#8220;6 and 4&#8221; by Patrick Rahming.\u00a0 For me it was a toss up between this and &#8220;Bain Town Woman&#8221;, but gambling is such a national obsession that I chose this one.\u00a0 This is one of the songs that gave me a clear and strong sense of my Bahamianess.\u00a0 Hearing our dialect immortalized in song was a vital form of affirmation.<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0 &#8220;Andros Island&#8221; by The Magnetics.\u00a0 &#8220;The cats and the dogs and even bullfrogs, eatin crab fat and callin it dat.&#8221;\u00a0 Love this song and love the voice of the lead singer.\u00a0 Seeing as I spent some years in Andros as a kid, I&#8217;m biased.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0 &#8220;Shot Gun Wedding&#8221; by Ronnie Butler and the Ramblers.\u00a0 A long lost tradition, I tell you.\u00a0 We&#8217;re in need of a come-back.\u00a0 I think we&#8217;d solve a lot of problems with this.<\/p>\n<p>7.\u00a0 &#8220;Naughty Johnny&#8221; by Eddie Minnis.\u00a0 One of the few recorded songs that became a ringplay instead of using ringplays as material.<\/p>\n<p>8.\u00a0 &#8220;Got a Letter from Miami&#8221; by Priscilla Rollins. You hardly ever hear this on the radio.\u00a0 I suppose today&#8217;s DJs consider it ole timey.\u00a0 But it&#8217;s good stuff.<\/p>\n<p>9.\u00a0 &#8220;Just Cause She Fat&#8221; by K. B.\u00a0 I realize that this is early KB but the early stuff is good stuff.\u00a0 Although I like the &#8220;Civil Servant&#8221; it lacks a certain dance-ability, if you know what I mean.\u00a0 Wait a minute . . .\u00a0 what about &#8220;Hard Heel Gal&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p>10.\u00a0 &#8220;Look What You Could Get&#8221; by Ira Storr.\u00a0 A little slice of musical heaven.<\/p>\n<p>11.\u00a0 &#8220;Pie&#8221; by Stileet. Some people are fond of songs that punctuate moments in their lives.\u00a0 I love this song because it would have captured perfectly how I felt during a bad relationship.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the song came out after I had freed myself.\u00a0 Still, it manages to &#8220;bring back memories.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>12.\u00a0 &#8220;Ghost Move&#8221; by Avvy.\u00a0 When I attended an elementary school&#8217;s Language Arts day and this song was sung by the children, I realized just how infectious and popular it was.\u00a0 I still don&#8217;t think the little kiddies should have been singing it though.<\/p>\n<p>13.\u00a0 &#8220;Bring Back the Good Ole Days&#8221; by Sweet Emily.\u00a0 Do I need to elaborate, really?<\/p>\n<p>14.\u00a0 &#8220;Burma Road&#8221; by Ronnie Butler.\u00a0 No song straightens your back quite like this medley.\u00a0 It is the quintessential &#8220;Bahamian thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>15.\u00a0 &#8220;Boom Pine Apple Wine&#8221; by Roachy.\u00a0 Funky, bumpin, hybrid Bahamian fun.<\/p>\n<p>16.\u00a0 &#8220;Run Come See&#8221; by Blind Blake.\u00a0 Great music is timeless.\u00a0 A lot of youngsters have probably never heard of this man or heard any of his songs.\u00a0 We should fix that.<\/p>\n<p>17.\u00a0 &#8220;Rake n Scrape Mama&#8221; by Lassie Doh and the Boys.\u00a0 A fun story, and even more fun tune.\u00a0 The men who made this created something out of love.\u00a0 So it&#8217;s no surprise I love it too.<\/p>\n<p>18.\u00a0 &#8220;Da Mail&#8221; by King Eric.\u00a0 A song that reminds me of childhood, of sleepy Family Island settlements and of our elders, the folks we never spent enough time listening to or learning from.\u00a0 This song, although all about departure and separation, keeps me rooted.<\/p>\n<p>19.\u00a0 &#8220;Funky Nassau&#8221; by Beginning of the End. Funk, rhythm and blues perfection. Soul. Soul. Soul.\u00a0 Music should have size. This song is big enough for the whole world.<\/p>\n<p>20.\u00a0 &#8220;Get Involved&#8221; by Dr. Off.\u00a0 Man, what a textured, groovy Junka-jam!\u00a0 &#8220;Leave other people tings alone!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\namzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";\namzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"bahamasb2b-20\";\namzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"search\";\namzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";\namzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";\namzn_assoc_region = \"US\";\namzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = \"caribbean music\";\namzn_assoc_default_category = \"All\";\namzn_assoc_linkid = \"97df09121bd496b543bdd3de7c7a7c35\";\namzn_assoc_design = \"in_content\";\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I could easily have made this a list of 30 favourites.\u00a0 I look at my list and realize that a lot of my favourites aren&#8217;t even here, like Joseph Spence, T-Connection, Bahamen, Visage, Gino D, Dry Bread, Elon Moxey, Funky D, Terez, Nita, Papa Smurf and many more.\u00a0 But look, I&#8217;m at 800 words.\u00a0 My job is done.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll get to those others next time.<\/p>\n<p>By: Ian Strachan<\/p>\n<p><em>If you enjoyed this article you may want to visit <a href=\"http:\/\/ianstrachan.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian&#8217;s Blog<\/a> and read more of his insightful commentaries.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ian Strachan presents an admitedly unscientific, but still very good, list of his favourite Bahamian songs and would like to know if you agree, or disagree. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-3907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3907"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238418,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3907\/revisions\/238418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}