Words by Richard “Treats” Dryden
It feels like summer when Lover’s Rock is pumping from your speakers. Add a voice as golden as Sanchez singing Dennis Brown’s “Your Love Got A Hold On Me,” and you can feel the days getting longer. The Lover’s Rock classic is a LargeUp premiere lifted from We Remember Dennis Brown, a new tribute album commemorating the Crown Prince of Reggae on VP Records.
“Your Love Got A Hold On Me” is one of 30 tracks on the double-disc album out today, just a few weeks ahead of the anniversary of Brown’s passing on July 1st, 1999. In addition to Sanchez, some of Brown’s R&B-inspired contemporaries such as Maxi Priest and Freddie McGregor pay tribute; plus reggae’s current generation, including Jah9, Raging Fyah, Gyptian and Jah Cure, are also featured. On what would have been Dennis Brown’s 59th birthday this past February, VP Records celebrated the Prince of Reggae’s life by releasing a song from the album for five weeks.
The flawlessness of Dennis Brown’s original, produced by Errol Thompson and Joe Gibbs on the Heavenless Riddim, is preserved on “Your Love Got A Hold On Me,” on last year’s Heaven Bless Riddim. Remember Dennis Brown forever, stream “Love’s Got A Hold On Me” below, and download We Remember Dennis Brown on iTunes.