Words by Eddie STATS Houghton, photo by Andrew Dosunmu
Last summer we got our dude Busy Signal on the phone and asked him to name his Top 10 (non-reggae) Summer Jams. #4 on that list (right between Luther Vandross and Phil Collins) was Kenny Rogers’ immortal pokerface anthem “The Gambler.” THIS summer Busy unveiled his own version of the tune as part of VP Records’ Reggae’s Gone Country compilation (a longtime dream, we understand, of current VP vp Cristy Barber, finally realized) so we thought we would run it for you and also repost the original list for today’s Toppa Top 10 Tuesdays in our first-ever LargeUp rewind (600 posts and counting!). I’m not saying that we caused this to happen or anything but we definitely caused this to happen. (We also invented the internet. You’re welcome.)
Listen to “The Gambler” above and read the Top 10 after the jump (full original post here) and stream Reggae’s Gone Country over here.
10. Air Supply, “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” – Actually Busy didn’t mention this tune by name, he just said “Air Supply.”
9. Lionel Richie, “Hello” – You would think that in the realm of Lionel Richie power ballads, Busy would automatically go Commodore’s “Night Shift”–but no. He knows you’re expecting that so he goes “Hello.” You’re playing power ballad checkers and he is playing power ballad Halo.
8. Enya, “Orinoco Flow” aka (“Sail Away”) – Scratch a badman, find an Enya fan. Seriously. Buccaneer flipped one of her melodies on his 90s throwback anthem “Fade Away” and she also provided the sample for the toughest tune in the Fugee catalog. Plus any gal who sang “Caribbean Blue” haffi get love in JA.
7. Michael Jackson, “Rock with You” – Another expected joint considering the slew of MJ tribute riddims (example below) Busy killed last year–he also gave an honorable mention to “Smooth Criminal.”
Busy Signal, “Da Style Deh” (Bad refix)
[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/BUSY-SIGNAL-DA-STYLE-DEH-EDIT-IM-BAD.mp3|titles=BUSY SIGNAL – DA STYLE DEH – EDIT – (IM BAD)]6. Rod Stewart, “Forever Young”
5. Phil Collins, “One More Night” – No surprise, since Busy flipped the hook on his own version, only surprising that it comes so late in the countdown. Seems like Phil is making a comeback with the MIA generation considering that The Very Best’s Esau Mwamwaya is also known as the African Phil Collins! It does kinda break your heart, though, when you consider the dub-plate possibilities of “In the Air Tonight” though…bullett! Oh well, next album maybe.
4. Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler” -Badman classic! Kenny must be an honorary Jamaican by now, once you’ve voiced a dub-plate I think your JA passport comes in the mail a week later.
3. Luther Vandross, “Here and Now” – Big people music.
2. Nat King Cole, “Mona Lisa” – Bad tune from a bad dude.
1. Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time”
Honorebel mentions: UB40, “The Red, Red Wine album” (I think he means this). For the record, I did not make any of this up, these picks came directly from the mind of Reanno “Busy Signal” Gordon. Happy August, hotheads.
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