Rudy, A Message to You (earworm alert)
So this was written, and posted up on Dailykos when It seemed like a certain Rudy with ties to criminals in both the White House and the Kremlin might be in some hot water. Amazing how career ending crimes and scandals are forgotten so easily these days. Anyway, Rudy Ghouliani didn’t go to jail. Oh well. Enjoy the tune.
Nowadays, it seems I can't go more than a couple of days without getting snippets of a certain song rolling through my head. The snippets include lines offering advice such as “Better think of your future / Else you wind up in jail”
The song is A Message to You, Rudy (sometimes Rudy, A Message to You). Yeah, the “Rudy” of the title is not the Russian operative of current fame. The “Rudy” (aka Rudi, Rudie, Rude boy) that this song addresses was a feature of the 1960’s Jamaican rocksteady and ska music scene and was a sharply dressed petty criminal who was “tuffer than tuff” (a self description of the time).
The Specials
The Specials (also known as The Special AKA when they were getting started and again after after a major line up change in the early '80's) came together in 1977 and soon got some major exposure opening for The Clash on tour. They were also involved with several gigs with Rock Against Racism, which was also getting started around the same time as the band. RAR was a movement with the mission of bringing young people together across racial lines and was started as a response to the rise of the National Front (UK Fascists of the time) and in particular, a reaction to Eric Clapton’s support of these thugs. In 1979, band Member Jerry Dammers started 2 Tone Records, named as statement that the music was intentionally multiracial (white punk, black ska).
The Specials made it a UK hit in 1979. Here is their iconic cover of this classic:
The Locomotive
The Specials made it a chart hit, but was not the first band to release a cover of the track. That honor goes to The Locomotive, from Birmingham. Released in 1967, only months after the original release.
Quite a few folks have released covers of this tune over the years. Countless other bands have mixed it in the live show set list. Here are Irish Trad Rock icons, The Pogues having a go.
Here is a dancehall update. I think its a pretty nice thing that’s happened here.
I think what has has happened here is a bit less nice. (Sorry, fellas)
This also happened
Dandy Livingstone
Born in Jamaica, Dandy made his musical career in the UK, starting as a duo with himself. He double tracked the vocals and released a few records as Sugar and Dandy. He recorded several singles in the mid sixties, including his first with rudeboys as a subject, Rudie Don’t Go. Livingstone was not alone in singing about these cultural figures. Several artists, both in the UK and in Jamaica, sang both praises and warnings to the rudeboys. In 1967, Rudy A Message to You was released as one of the songs that would offer caution to these young men that were often a violent presence in the music scene and a plea to chill out or simmer down.
Livingstone signed to Trojan Records and set up a subsidiary called DownTown to handle his releases and his producing efforts.
FUN FACT: The trombonist on both the original below and the Specials at the top is Rico Rodriguez.
Finally,
after so many covers of Livingstone’s classic, I leave you all with a cover that Livingstone released of the 1966 Hit by James and Bobby Purify, I’m Your Puppet