Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about the now classic Rocksteady song "Rudy, A Message To You" by Dandy Livingstone and the now classic Ska/Two Tone cover of that song by the Specials entitled "A Message To You, Rudy".
This post presents information about singer Dandy Livingstone and showcases his original version of this song.
Selected comments from a YouTube example of this song are also included in this post. Information about the United Kingdom meaning of "skinheads" is given after comment #18 in this discussion thread.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-specials-ska-record-message-to-you.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about The Specials and showcases The Specials' Ska/Two Tone version of this song.
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The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Dandy Livingstone for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/05/differences-between-ska-and-rocksteady.html for a pancocojams post that provides information about and examples of Ska & Rocksteady music.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
In this song, "Rudy" is derived from "rude boys", which originated as a 1960s Jamaican patois referent for street youth who would be called "gangstas" or "thugs" in United States vernacular. The term "rude" (impolite) may have been chosen as a referent for this population because of their anti-social attitudes/behaviors as well as their poor upbringings. In the United Kingdom, "rude boys" took on another meaning as one referent for fans of Ska and Two Tone music. (Information about two tone music is included in Part II of this pancocojams series.)
However, the words to this song also have a more contemporary application as noted by commenter lastroth who embedded a video of The Specials cover of this Dandy Livingstone song with his or her comment in a TPM discussion thread entitled "Rudy Giuliani Is Our Duke Of The Week" http://forums.talkingpointsmemo.com/t/discussion-rudy-giuliani-is-our-duke-of-the-week/71834/5. Here's information about TMP's "Golden Duke Award":
“In 2018, TPM has began awarding its Golden Duke — usually an annual prize — once a week. The honor, named for the scandal-plagued former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, goes to a public figure in the political realm who has distinguished themselves with a display of corruption or general ridiculousness.”
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INFORMATION ABOUT DANDY LIVINGSTONE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_Livingstone
Dandy Livingstone (born Robert Livingstone Thompson, 14 December 1943,[1] Kingston, Jamaica) is a British-Jamaican reggae musician and producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a hit for The Specials. "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
Biography
At the age of 15, Livingstone moved to the United Kingdom.[3] Livingstone's first record was released without his knowledge: A tenant in the building where he and a friend jammed recorded some of these sessions released some tracks on the Planetone record label.[1] When London-based Carnival Records was seeking a Jamaican vocal duo, Livingstone filled the requirement by double-tracking his own voice, releasing records in this fashion under the name Sugar & Dandy. One of these singles, "What a Life", sold 25,000 copies, providing Livingstone with his first hit.[1] When called on to perform live, Roy Smith was recruited to make up the duo, although he would be replaced by Tito "Sugar" Simon.[1]
In 1967, Livingstone signed with Ska Beat Records, for whom he recorded his debut album 1967's Rocksteady with Dandy.
In 1968, Livingstone moved into production, and formed a duo with Audrey Hall (as Dandy & Audrey). His production of other artists included The Marvels' debut album and hit singles by Nicky Thomas ("Suzanne Beware of The Devil") and Tony Tribe ("Red Red Wine").[1]
In the late 1960s, Livingstone worked with the trombonist Rico Rodriguez, who was featured on "Rudy, A Message to You". Rodriguez later played with The Specials, whose 1979 cover version of the song made it famous. Livingstone produced several singles for Rodriguez under the name Rico & the Rudies."...
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LYRICS: RUDY, A MESSAGE TO YOU
(Dandy Livingstone)
Stop your running about,
It's time you straighten right out.
Stop your running around,
Making problems in town.
Aha-a.. Rudy.
A messsage to you, Rudy.
A messsage to you.
You're growing older each day,
You want to think of your future,
Or you will wind up in jail,
And you will suffer.
Aha-a.. Rudy.
A messsage to you, Rudy.
A messsage to you.
(..)
Stop your running about,
It's time you straighten right out.
Stop your running around,
Making problems in town.
Aha-a.. Rudy.
A messsage to you, Rudy.
A messsage to you.
Source: https://www.jah-lyrics.com/song/dandy-livingstone-rudy-a-message-to-you
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SHOWCASE VIDEO- Dandy Livingstone - Rudy, A Message to You
Craig17g, Published on Mar 14, 2012
Rocksteady
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Selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Gilly Osmond, 2013
"Searched to find the original and found it.....Thank you!"
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2. wack2k8, 2013
"good song brah"
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3. Edgar Allan Floe, 2014
"Ahhh yea!!! Doesn't get any better! SKA life!"
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4. minkalina, 2014
"Rocksteady <3"
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5. joshua bee Alafia, 2014
"yes! a classic!"
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6. Judge 400 Years, 2015
"A monster of a tune by Dandy, man cant say enough about how huge a tune this is. Hush up and listen up good :)"
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7. Byron Dunbar, 2015
"This is still the best version of this song. I prefer it to the Specials cover."
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REPLY
8. Daniel Davis, 2015
"+Byron Dunbar Oh, completely."
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REPLY
9. Byron Dunbar, 2015
"+Daniel Davis Livingstone just sings so much better, I think he's one of the best if not the best voice in Jamaican music."
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REPLY
10. Paul Butler, 2018
"To be fair The Specials didn't butcher this song like The Clash butchered police and thieves, but the original still rules."
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11. Darryl Lenette, 2015
"I like this and the Specials cover a trully classic song!"
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12. darthdiggler@30, 2015
"hey this is a very good song but did not get popular until the specials and the 1st and 3rd wave of ska music"
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13. bonkers25, 2015
"The trombonist Rico played on both versions..👌🏼"
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14. Rupi Tamber, 2015
"People get ready, you got to' do Rocksteady,
Ah ha, ah ha. RIP Rico. One of the best and a song close to my heart and name."
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15. Christopher Brougham, 2016
"Ace. Can anyone tell me what year this was released?"
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"Ace" means "Excellent".
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REPLY
16. Mithril Dwarf, 2016
"+Christopher Brougham 1967"
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17. Barry Greenwood, 2017
"Trojan ska fine and dandy fine and dandy"
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"Trojan" here probably refers to a record label. That name may have been selected because of the word "Trojan" connotations "huge", "strong", the best" etc..
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18. Al Alex, 2017
"Classic skinhead music :)"
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In the United States, "skinheads" are associated with anti-Black racism, but that term may means something entirely different in the United Kingdom:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead
"The skinhead subculture originated among working class youths in London, England in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement spreading worldwide in the 1980s. Motivated by social alienation and working class solidarity, skinheads are defined by their close-cropped or shaven heads and working class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length straight-leg jeans, and button down collar shirts, usually slim fitting in check or plain. The movement reached a peak during the 1960s, and a revival in the 1980s but since then, it has endured in multiple contexts worldwide.
The rise to prominence of skinheads came in two waves, with the first wave taking place in the late 1960s and the second wave originating in the mid 1970s to early 1980s. The first skins were working class youths motivated by an expression of alternative values and working class pride, rejecting both the austerity and conservatism of the 1950s-early 1960s and the more middle class or bourgeois hippie movement and peace and love ethos of the mid to late 1960s. Skinheads were instead drawn towards more working class outsider subcultures, incorporating elements of mod fashion and black music and black fashion, especially from Jamaican rude boys.[1] In the earlier stages of the movement, a considerable overlap existed between early skinhead subculture, mod subculture, and the rude boy subculture found among Jamaican British and Jamaican immigrant youth, as these groups interacted and fraternized with each other within the same working class and poor neighborhoods in Britain.[2] As skinheads adopted elements of mod subculture and Jamaican British and Jamaican immigrant rude boy subculture, both first and second generation skins were influenced by the heavy, repetitive rhythms of dub and ska, as well as rocksteady, reggae, bluebeat, and African-American soul music.[2][3][4]"...
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19. Steve Finn, 2018
"Did a guest appearance at The BBC for Prison Radio. This was my song Choice.
A young Blud on the same Show called me Ancient! LoL.! These Youngsters know nothing"
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20. Sakhib Syed, 2018
";-) gangster riddm ;-)"
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This concludes Part I of this two part series.
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