April 05, 2008 11:00 PM
C&L Late Nite Music Club with Toots & The Maytals
Another Feel Good Sunday Reggae Night at C&L! And tonight's song, "Take Me Home, Country Road," is dedicated to Jay Rockefeller. Written by John Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, Denver had a smash hit with it in 1971 (#2 on the Billboard chart). Toots & the Maytals recorded their own version of it in 1974 for In The Dark. It was later released on a U.S.-only compilaton called Funky Kingston (1976) and took off big time. Toots & The Maytals actually have had more #1 smashes in Jamaica than even Bob Marley. (This song was a mega-hit in Asia and Japan, where it is popularly known as Country Load.)
I love Toots, he exudes SOUL!!!!!
I love this version!!
As a young Jamaican-American youte, mi hafi say ... dis ya tune mek mi feel good!!!
Country Road!!!! Take mi home! ... West Jamaica!
His recent CD is pretty good.
If you see them live, it is impossible not to have a good time.
just awesome.
Had never heard it before. Decidedly cool.
Toots, man. Yeah.
But the Congos....Blood Fire mon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gCR0qGap4Q - The Congos - Ark Of The Covenant
A friend recently turned me on to the Jimmy Cliff film project known as The Harder They Come.
This is such a gem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_St8Kbo4uwU
Jay Rockefeller is a carpetbagger though his family may have owned most of West Virginia at one time. Nice shot, HK. Hope you get some Afternoon Delight soon.
Dat wuz sweet an' dandy, mon! Irie ites!
Toot's is one of the very best.
I LOVE that band!!!!
sweet i've been listening to them a lot.. they do some radiohead or "radiodread" covers i dig.. especially 'let down'... anyway, really killer, soulful stuff
I love Toots, although this is probably his most famous recording (sweet and dandy and pressure drop being a couple more) he has tons of great music "Time Tough" comes to mind for current events.
The song actually translates to reggae surprisingly well. :)
I saw Toots & the Maytals open for the Who in Greensboro, NC in 1976. Opening for the Who is challenge anyway, and the crowd was restless and noisy for Toots from the first note. They played "Country Road" about the third song and the crowd completely booed them offstage. I felt bad at the time, because I knew who they were but didn't know their music. However, that was probably not the best choice of opening act the promoters could have made.
Richard
Any of y'all ever listen to King Tubby, or Hugh Mundell?
Very good stuff.
I'll be doggone. I guess it is the singer and not the song.
Richard Pipes: I had a buddy who lived in LA (circa '76). He told me he was in a pizza parlor one night when someone chose a John Denver song from the jukebox. A hostile vibe immediately arose from the customers, and someone piped up'd and loiudly asked, "Who put that asshole on"? Turned out, Denver was sitting at a booth with his mother. Whether he chose the song himself, or someone else did so after spotting him, my friend didn't know. I was never a fan of his, but, geez, the poor guy was with his mom.
rumor has it Toots was the person who coined the term reggae. or am i mistaken?
KF @ 18:
No mistake. You are right.
You should se the video with Toots and Willie nelson...priceless. Also, Toots appeared at a big Willie-Birthday show and killed.
I saw Toots live last fall at a festival in Florida. The man is a universe unto himself - just amazing!
My all-time favorite Toos tune is "Sweet and Dandy," from the Harder They Come soundtrack. He did "Country Roads" at MagnoliaFest, but he didn't do my fave. But still: great show, great musician!
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