DID YOU KNOW? TIMING IS EVERYTHING?

By Marlon Burrell —-

Sometimes, songs that are outright classics are not initially met with confidence by those who are responsible for their releases. Did you know that the The Abyssinians’ all time classic “Satta Massagana” (which means give thanks in the Amharic language)  was recorded at Clement “Coxone” Dodd’s legendary Studio One in 1969 but never saw release on Studio One or any of its subsidiary imprints?

The  Abyssinians consisted of Bernard Collins and brothers Lynford and Donald Manning. The Mannings are the brothers of Carlton Manning of Carlton & The Shoes. The Shoes consisted of the three Manning brothers and Alexander Henry who had a big hit for the Studio One label with “Please Be True” in 1969. Carlton & The Shoes had a big hit for Clement Dodd in 1968 with “Love Me Forever.” The b side of that release is a song called “Happy Land” on whose lyrics “Satta Massagana” was based. Reports are that Dodd decided not to release “Satta” because he did not see any commercial potential in it. It took group member Bernard Collins two years to save 90 pounds to purchase the tape from Dodd and released the song on their own Clinch label. The rest as they say, is history. “Satta Massagana” became one of the biggest hits in reggae history and spawned a classic album of the same name released by the group in 1976.

Additionally, The Royals classic “Pick Up The Pieces” has a similar story. That song too was recorded at Studio One in 1969. It wasn’t released until 1972 by Clement Dodd and only after Royals member Roy Cousins saved enough money from his post office job to purchase studio time and record another version of the song. On a final note, Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths’ classic “Really Together” was recorded in 1968 but was not released until 1972 to capitalize on the duo’s international success with “Young, Gifted, And Black” and “Piped Piper” for producer Harry Johnson aka Harry J. Mr. Dodd himself has said in interviews that over 70 percent of the material recorded at Studio One never saw commercial release. It makes me wonder how many classics are buried in the coffers and if his son who now runs the Studio One operation will release some of them. I guess only time will tell.