"Oh Carolina" is a 1958 song by theFolkes Brothers, produced byPrince Buster and released in 1960, after which it became an earlyska hit. It was covered by many various artists, includingShaggy in 1993.
The original version of the song was recorded byJamaican vocal trio theFolkes Brothers (John, Mico, and Junior Folkes) and wasproduced byPrince Buster at RJR studios inKingston.[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 atDuke 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 he paid £100.[2]
Buster travelled to theWareika Hills to find aNiyabinghi group to play on a recording session, and broughtCount 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 landmarksingle in the development of Jamaican modern music (ska,rocksteady andreggae) specially for the incorporation of African-influencedNiyabinghi-styledrumming andchanting, and for the exposure it gave to theRastas, who at the time were marginalised in Jamaican society.[2][4] The track's piano riff was performed byOwen Gray.[3] The single was licensed toBlue 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 albumDon'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 albumGrounation, and in 1975 by Junior Byles.
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".
"Oh Carolina" was covered by Jamaican musicianShaggy and released in January 1993 byVirgin Records as the lead single from his debut album,Pure Pleasure (1993). Produced byShaun Pizzonia, it became an international hit following its use in the 1993 filmSliver.[5] In the United Kingdom, it became the first of Shaggy's four chart-topping singles, spending two weeks at the summit of theUK Singles Chart in March 1993. In the United States, the song received majorcrossover airplay onalternative rock radio, and as a result, it peaked at number 14 on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart. The song's success returned reggae music to mainstream popularity in the UK.[5] The accompanying music video for "Oh Carolina" receivedheavy rotation onMTV Europe.[7]
AllMusic editor Alex Henderson described the song as an "infectious interpretation".[8]Larry Flick fromBillboard felt that "grufftoasting and chanting are balanced by a clanging shuffle-beat." He added that it is "poised for instant pop radio success".[9]Chuck Eddy fromEntertainment Weekly called it "joyous", noting the "lusty humor".[10] Tom Ewing ofFreaky Trigger stated that Shaggy's take on the song "acknowledges its debt to the past right away – sampling the intro from the Folkes Brothers' 1960 original. Not just a nod of respect, it's a canny move, as the crackling, wheezing shanty-town piano sounded like nothing else on 1993 radio, giving "Oh Carolina" instant cut-through."[11] Dave Sholin from theGavin Report viewed it as "an exciting original creation which can't help but bring excitement to radio."[12]
James Masterton wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "If there is a dance craze at the moment it certainly has to be this 'dancehall' style ofragga".[13]James Hamilton fromMusic Week'sRM Dance Update described it as a "gruff ragga revamp" and "catchy".[14] Seamus Quinn fromNME wrote, "Ragga Sleaze to please that could have only come from the States. Musically it's almost rockabilly ragga withMotown snippets and weird boogie time themes. If this wasn't bizarre enough, the lyrical content gets this week'sRoger Mellie award for sheer rudeness. Not one for the Student Unions of this world, I fear, but this is genuine out-of-order humour with a compelling hook. Just nod yer head and grin."[15]
Al Weisel fromRolling Stone remarked that featuring "the hard-hitting rhythms and relentless vocals of dance hall, "Oh Carolina" also harked back to the joyousness and soul that characterized the pre-Rastafarian Jamaican music of the '60s: a sense of fun that's been lost to some extent amid the sexism and violence glorified in a lot of dance hall."[16]Charles Aaron fromSpin wrote, "His voice a flu-season growl, 24-year-old Shaggy comes off like a bewilderedStudio One relic who wandered into a dancehall booby trap of pings, dings, and rattles. J. Raff Allen produces like aSpike Jones fan."[17] Christina Pazzanese fromVibe constated that "with its familiar, brassyPeter Gunn riff and goofy singalong lyrics, it's an instant favourite with even the most unwavering of dancehall-haters and seems destined to be the music's next breakthrough American smash."[18]
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" akaPrince 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]
The Jamaicanska andreggae trombonistRico Rodriguez recorded an instrumental version entitled "Carolina" as a B-side to his 1980 single, "Sea Cruise".[78]
Jamaican artist Yellowman created a popular cover version on his 1994 album Prayer
In February 1995,South Korean pop-groupRoo'ra released a Korean version, with the title "날개 잃은 천사" ("Nalgae irun chunsa"; "Angels that lost their wings").[80]
^"New Releases: Singles"(PDF).Music Week. 23 January 1993. p. 21. Retrieved21 June 2021.Misprinted as the issue date, 23 January. The albums section uses the correct date.
^"New Releases: Singles".Music Week. 6 February 1993. p. 27.
^"New Release Summary – Product Available from : 10/05/93: Singles".The ARIA Report. No. 170. 9 May 1993. p. 19.
^"New Release Summary – Product Available from : 23/05/93: Singles".The ARIA Report. No. 172. 23 May 1993. p. 21.
