RELEASED in 1964, Tom Paxton’s ballad The Last Thing on My Mind has earned its ‘classic’ tag. It has been covered by several Jamaican artists, the latest being Leroy Brown.
The veteran singer’s self-produced version was recently released on his Caturna label. While he is familiar with the original, Brown said it was one of the covers that grabbed him.
“Is a song a love from the 70s when Delroy (Wilson) did it. It’s a beautiful song, a jus’ hope I did it justice,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Brown’s version features Sly and Robbie, the Firehouse Crew’s Paul ‘Wrong Move’ Crosdale on guitar and keyboard and keyboardist Bobby Kalphat.
Brown first recorded in the late 1960s for producer Phil Pratt and was a member of two influential groups: the Hippy Boys and The Emotions, alongside bassist Aston ‘Familyman’ Barrett and Lloyd Shakespeare, older brother of Robbie.
A pioneer reggae artist in Canada where he moved to in 1971, he established himself in that country before returning to Jamaica in 2007.
The Last Thing on My Mind hears him reaching out to a younger audience.
“I think it’s fair for guys from my era to come back an’ record songs for the younger generation to appreciate,” he said. “There are a few singers now but there are more deejays. We need more singers because they are the ones who carry the melodies, an’ that’s what the music is all about.”
Born in St Catherine, Brown grew up in Trench Town during the 1960s, arguably the most outstanding period in Jamaican music.
The Hippy Boys, which also included Barrett’s brother Carlton on drums and keyboardist Glen Adams, had a big hit with Dr No Go for producer Sonia Pottinger.
They later became Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Upsetters band that backed the Wailers on hits like Mr Brown.
Leroy Brown migrated to Canada and settled in Toronto. There, along with Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Lynn Taitt, he became a leading player in the growing reggae scene.
—By Howard Campbell
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