Tarrus Riley’s live rendition of Bob Andy’s iconic song, “Desperate Lover,” in honor of the late legendary reggae singer’s 79th birthday, is available through VP Records.
This passage is taken from “We Remember Bob Andy – Live,” the final concert of Reggae Month 2023, which honors the legacy of the late Jamaican singer-songwriter. The concert was produced by Dean Fraser.
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The album, which was released on February 10, includes 15 rerecordings of Bob Andy songs by artists including Richie Spice, Tarrus Riley, Beres Hammond, Sanchez, Romain Virgo, Luciano, and Nadine Sutherland.
The “Lion Paw” singer remarked in reference to the project, “You can maybe find yourself in a Bob Andy song, or you know somebody who been the subject of the song, so maybe I can relate to the Desperate Lover.”
Bob Andy, real name Keith Anderson, was one of the original members of The Paragons, along with Howard Barrett and Tyrone Evans. Vic Taylor eventually replaced John Holt, who had joined briefly earlier. Following Holt’s return, Andy departed and worked as a record delivery and songwriting intern at Studio One before starting a solo career.
“I’ve Got to Go Back Home”, his first solo breakthrough record, came out in 1967. Desperate Lover, Feeling Soul, Unchained, and Too Experienced followed. In addition, he wrote songs for other reggae artists, such as Melody Life for Marcia Griffiths and Feel Like Jumping, Truly, and I Don’t Want to See You Cry for Ken Boothe.
In the latter part of the 1960s, he achieved a number of successful singles, such as Feel the Feeling, My Time, Feeling Soul, Going Home, and The Ghetto Stays in the Mind. A few of songs, along with his 1992 breakthrough song “Fire Burning,” are now considered reggae standards and have been covered multiple times by other artists.
An important contributor to the growth of Jamaican music, he made reggae popular throughout the world with his famous song “Young Gifted and Black,” a duet with Marcia Griffiths.
Over the years, hundreds of covers and adaptations of Bob Andy songs have been made, and these songs are now considered essential to the larger canon of original Jamaican music and recordings. Bob Andy is a musical genius whose melodies, lyrics, and rhythms have permeated Jamaican popular music for over 50 years, whether through well-known renditions like Barrington Levy’s version of Too Experienced or through the beats of songs like Desperate Lover.
