Oh Carolina

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

Folkes Brothers version

"Oh Carolina"
Single by Folkes Brothers
B-side "I Met a Man"
Released 1960
Format 7 inch single
Recorded 1960, RJR Studios, Kingston
Genre Ska
Label Buster Wild Bells
Writer(s) John Folkes
Producer(s) Prince Buster

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 licensed 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.

Track listing

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 recorded by Jamaican musician Shaggy, and released as the lead single from his 1993 debut album Pure Pleasure. Produced by Sting International, it became an international hit. In the United Kingdom, it became the first of Shaggy's four chart-topping singles, spending two weeks at the summit of the UK Singles Chart in March 1993.[5] The song fared less well in the United States, peaking at number fifty nine 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 fourteen on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[6] Shaggy's version also appeared on the soundtrack of the 1993 film Sliver.

Track listing

United Kingdom
  • 7" vinyl / Cassette[7]
  1. "Oh Carolina" (Radio Version) – 3:12
  2. "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat Version) – 3:50
  1. "Oh Carolina" (Radio Version) – 3:12
  2. "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat Version) – 3:50
  3. "Rivers of Babylon" (featuring Rayvon) - 4:03
  1. "Oh Carolina" (Radio Version) – 3:12
  2. "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat Version) – 3:50
  3. "Oh Carolina" (Uptown 10001 Version) – 3:18
  4. "Bow Wow Wow" – 3:41
United States
  1. "Oh Carolina" – 3:53
  2. "Oh Carolina" (12" Flastbush Mix) - 3:06
  1. "Oh Carolina" (Hip Hop Remix) – 4:29
  2. "Oh Carolina" (Instrumental) - 3:48
  3. "Oh Carolina" (Silver Version) - 3:04
  4. "Oh Carolina" (Gangster Mix) - 4:29
  5. "Oh Carolina" (Bonus Beats) - 2:04
  1. "Oh Carolina" - 3:53
  2. "Love Me Up" - 3:51
  1. "Oh Carolina" (Radio Version) – 3:12
  2. "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat Version) – 3:50
  3. "Oh Carolina" (12" Flastbush Mix) - 3:06
  4. "Love Me Up" (Dancehall Mix) - 3:51
  5. "Love Me Up" (Hip Hop Mix) - 3:51
  6. "Love Me Up" ("Up" Version) - 3:59

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 2
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[15] 4
Canada (RPM)[16] 38
Canada Dance (RPM)[17] 1
France (SNEP)[14] 33
Germany (Media Control Charts)[18] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 6
New Zealand (RIANZ)[14] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 3
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[21] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 59
US Billboard Alternative Songs[6] 14

End of year charts

End of year chart (1993) Position
Australian Singles Chart[22] 34
Austrian Singles Chart[23] 14
Dutch Top 40[20] 48
Swiss Singles Chart[24] 29

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Germany[25] Gold 1993 150,000
UK[26] Gold April 1, 1993 400,000

Chart successions

Preceded by
"No Limit" by 2 Unlimited		 UK number-one single
March 14, 1993 – March 27, 1993 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Young at Heart" by The Bluebells
Irish IRMA number-one single
April 4, 1993 (1 week)

Dispute over authorship

Following the success of Shaggy's version, 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" aka 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 February 1995, South Korean pop-group Roo'ra released a Korean version, with the title "날개 잃은 천사" ("Nalgae irun chunsa"; "Angels that lost their wings").[27]

References

  1. 1 2 Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, p. 197, 328
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Alleyne, Mike (2012) The Encyclopedia of Reggae, Sterling, ISBN 978-1-4027-8583-2, p. 84
  3. 1 2 3 Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) The Rough Guide to Reggae, Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4, p. 23
  4. ↑ Jason Toynbee, Bob Marley, Polity Press, 2007, pp. 121-22.
  5. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 491. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. 1 2 3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 3, 2008)
  7. ↑ "Images for Shaggy - Oh Carolina". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Shaggy / Rayvon - Oh Carolina (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  9. ↑ "Shaggy - Oh Carolina (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  10. ↑ "Images for Shaggy - Oh Carolina". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Images for Shaggy - Oh Carolina". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  12. ↑ "Shaggy - Oh Carolina / Love Me Up (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Shaggy - Oh Carolina (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Oh Carolina", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 3, 2008)
  15. ↑ Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  17. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  18. ↑ "Shaggy singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  19. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved April 3, 2008)
  20. 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1993" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  21. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 3, 2008)
  22. ↑ 1993 Australian Singles Chart aria.com Archived March 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved September 3, 2008)
  23. ↑ 1993 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived September 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved September 3, 2008)
  24. ↑ 1993 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved September 3, 2008)
  25. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Oh+Carolina')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  26. ↑ "UK certifications, database". Bpi. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  27. ↑ 룰라 ("Roo'ra") (in Korean)
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