"007 (Shanty Town)" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Jamaican band

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...

and the Aces, released as a single from their debut album of the same name. It was also a hit for

Musical Youth Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their 1982 single " Pass the Dutchie", which was a number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Yout ...

in 1983. "007 (Shanty Town)" has been called "the most enduring and archetypal"

rude boy Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...

song. Its title and lyrics refer to the cool imagery of films such as the James Bond series and ''

Ocean's 11 ''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars five of the Rat Pack ...

'', admired by "rudies".

Desmond Dekker version

The original recording of "007" (without the 'Shanty Town') was produced by

Leslie Kong Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer. Career Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Stre ...

and originally released as a single on the Pyramid label. The single featured

Roland Alphonso Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites. Biography Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso ...

's "El Torro" on the B-side. Dekker wrote the song after watching news coverage of a student demonstration against government plans to build an industrial complex on land close to the beach, which descended into violence. In Dekker's words:

"The students had a demonstration and it went all the way around to Four Shore Road and down to Shanty Town. You got wildlife and thing like that because it down near the beach. And the higher ones wanted to bulldoze the whole thing down and do their own thing and the students said no way. And it just get out of control...Is just a typical riot 'cause I say - ''Them a loot, them a shoot, them a wail''."O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998) ''Reggae Routes'', , pp. 102-3

The song also deals with a 'rude boy' who after being released from prison continues to commit crime. Despite its cautionary sentiment, it cemented Dekker's popularity among

s in Jamaica,Apter, Jeff (2007) ''A Simple Kind of Life: Gwen Stefani and No Doubt'', Wise, , p. 8 in contrast to Dekker's earlier music, which espoused traditional morals such as

parental respect Parental respect refers to deference and associated actions directed towards one's parent(s). In most societies parental respect is a virtuous disposition. The extent to how much deference should be afforded to one's parents difference from regio ...

and the importance of education. "007" was Dekker's first international hit. The single was a number one hit in Jamaica and reached number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, making it the first Jamaican-produced record to reach the UK top 20.Dekker Finds Genesis In 'Exodus'
, '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 25 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012 Ethnomusicologist Michael Veal identifies "007 (Shanty Town)" as one of the songs that demonstrated the viability of Jamaican music in England. Dekker recorded the song again for his 1980 album ''Black and Dekker''.

Cover versions

Notable groups who have

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

"007 (Shanty Town)" include: * The Bodysnatchers, for the soundtrack to the 1981 documentary ''

Dance Craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 American documentary film about the British 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, whom he met during their first US tour. Massot later ...

'' *

, on their 1983 album '' Different Style!''; this version reached 26 on the UK Singles Chart *

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...

, on their 1996 album '' Today's Specials''

Other uses

The song has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by Special Ed ("I'm the Magnificent") and

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer * Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse * Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspor ...

(" Bonafide Girl"). The rhythm had been featured by

Anthony B Keith Blair (born 31 March 1976), better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.Moskowitz, David V (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Danceha ...

in 2008 on ''The Pow Pow Trilogy'', ("Time For The Love"). UK ska-punk band Sonic Boom Six used a sample of the chorus as the outro to "Rum Little Skallywag". "007 (Shanty Town)" was included in the soundtrack of the film ''

The Harder They Come ''The Harder They Come'' is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell and co-written by Trevor D. Rhone, and starring Jimmy Cliff. The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world". ...

'',Campbell, Howard (2012)
Soundtrack for the ages: 40 Years of Harder They Come
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 13 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012 and in the ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' soundtrack from the '' Episodes from Liberty City'' add-on. The "007"

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

was revived in 2007 for a series of releases on Beverley's Records, forming the basis of singles from

Joseph Cotton Joseph Cotton Jah Walton (born Silbert Walton, 1957, St. Ann, Jamaica) is a reggae singer active since the mid-1970s. Biography After spending a year working in the Jamaican police force, Walton turned to recording, initially working with J ...

("Ship Sail"), Mike Brooks ("Blam Blam Blam"),

The Blackstones The Blackstones are a United Kingdom-based reggae vocal trio formed in 1974, in the tradition of the Jamaican harmony-trio.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, , p.393 The Blackstones comp ...

("Out a Road"), and

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith, 6 August 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer. Career Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, ...

("D.J. Roll Call"). "007 (Shanty Town)" was included in the soundtrack for Chocolate Skateboard's Las Nueve Vidas De Paco (1995), during the segment of professional skater Keenan Milton. Most recently, it featured on the soundtrack of the 2020 film Vivarium (film).

References

External links

* {{authority control 1967 singles Jamaican songs Songs written by Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker songs Song recordings produced by Leslie Kong 1967 songs The Specials songs