"Oh Carolina" is a 1958 song by the

Folkes Brothers The Folkes Brothers were a Jamaican ska group, composed of John, Mico, and Junior Folkes, best known for the single "Oh Carolina". History The group's 1961 single "Oh Carolina" was the first hit record produced by Prince Buster, and is regard ...

, produced by

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

and released in 1960, after which it became an early

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

hit. It was covered by many various artists, including

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 ...

in 1993.

Folkes Brothers version

The original version of the song was recorded by

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n vocal trio the

(John, Mico, and Junior Folkes) and was produced by

at RJR studios in Kingston.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 197, 328 The song was written by John Folkes in 1958 about his girlfriend (who was actually named Noelena).Alleyne, Mike (2012) ''The Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Sterling, , p. 84 The group had met Buster while auditioning at

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

's liquor store and Buster decided that he wanted to record the song.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae'', Rough Guides, , p. 23 According to the brothers, Buster paid them £60 for the recording. Buster claims he paid £100. Buster travelled to the

Wareika Hills Long Mountain is a mountain on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. Parts of it are also known as Wareika or Wareika Hills. It has been the site of a residence and later a Rastafarian commune of Count Ossie. Nyabinghi drummers from his Camp Da ...

to find a Niyabinghi group to play on a recording session, and brought

Count Ossie Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...

and his group of drummers (Count Ossie's Afro-Combo) back to the studio, where they played on "Oh Carolina". "Oh Carolina" was a landmark

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the development of Jamaican modern music (

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

) specially for the incorporation of African-influenced Niyabinghi-style

drumming Drumming may refer to: * the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments * Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums * ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble ...

and

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

, and for the exposure it gave to the Rastas, who at the time were marginalised in Jamaican society. The track's piano riff was performed by

Owen Gray Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey (born 5 July 1939),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been ...

. The single was licensed to

Blue Beat Records Blue Beat Records is an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word ''bluebeat'' as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jama ...

for release in the UK in 1961. The two tracks on the single (The B-side was "I Met a Man") were the only songs recorded by The Folkes Brothers as a trio. Mico and Junior Folkes re-recorded the song without John for the 2011 album ''Don't Leave Me Darling'', the first release credited to the Folkes Brothers since the early 1960s. "Oh Carolina" was later reissued on the Prince Buster label. The song was also recorded in 1973 by Count Ossie, on his album ''Grounation'', and in 1975 by Junior Byles.

Track listing

Original release A: "Oh Carolina"
B: "I Met a Man" Prince Buster label reissue A: "Oh Carolina"
B: "Chubby" – Prince Buster and the All Stars Other releases "Oh Carolina" was also issued as the B-side to Prince Buster's "Madness" on a 1961 single on the Fab label, and was included on a 1978 12-inch single of "Big Five".

Shaggy version

"Oh Carolina" was recorded by Jamaican musician

and released as the lead single from his debut album, ''

Pure Pleasure ''Pure Pleasure'' is the debut album released by Jamaican singer Shaggy. The album was released on July 30, 1993. The album spawned four singles: "Oh Carolina", which was a dancehall remake of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers, reached number on ...

'' (1993). Produced by

Shaun Pizzonia Shaun Pizzonia (born March 9, 1968), or Sting International is an American musician, DJ, sound engineer, song writer, and two-time Grammy Award winning producer best known for his work with Jamaican musician Shaggy and English musician Sting. P ...

, it became an international hit following its use in the 1993 film ''

Sliver Sliver may refer to: Entertainment *Sliver (novel), ''Sliver'' (novel), a 1991 novel by Ira Levin **Sliver (film), ''Sliver'' (film), a 1993 film adaptation of the novel **Sliver (soundtrack), ''Sliver'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the 1993 fi ...

'', starring

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

. In the United Kingdom, it became the first of Shaggy's four chart-topping singles, spending two weeks at the summit of 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 ...

in March 1993. The song fared less well in the United States, peaking at number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song received major

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

airplay on American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

radio, and as a result, the song peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. The song's success returned reggae music to mainstream popularity in the UK. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Oh Carolina" received

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Alex Henderson described the song as an "infectious interpretation".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt that "gruff toasting and chanting are balanced by a clanging shuffle-beat." He added that it is "poised for instant pop radio success".

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nat ...

from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called it "joyous", noting "the lusty humor". Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger stated that

's take on the song "acknowledges its debt to the past right away – sampling the intro from the

' 1960 original. Not just a nod of respect, it's a canny move, as the crackling, wheezing shanty-town piano sounded like nothing else on 1993 radio, giving "Oh Carolina" instant cut-through." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' viewed it as "an exciting original creation which can't help but bring excitement to radio."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

wrote in his weekly UK chart commentary, "If there is a dance craze at the moment it certainly has to be this '

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

' style of

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

". James Hamilton from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update described it as a "gruff ragga revamp" and "catchy". Al Weisel from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' remarked that "featuring the hard-hitting rhythms and relentless vocals of dance hall, "Oh Carolina" also harked back to the joyousness and soul that characterized the pre-

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

Jamaican music of the '60s: a sense of fun that's been lost to some extent amid the sexism and violence glorified in a lot of dance hall." Christina Pazzanese from ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' constated that "with its familiar, brassy

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

riff and goofy singalong lyrics, it's an instant favourite with even the most unwavering of dancehall-haters and seems destined to be the music's next breakthrough American smash."

Track listings

* UK 7-inch and cassette single, European CD single # "Oh Carolina" (radio version) – 3:10 # "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat version) – 3:48 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Oh Carolina" (radio version) :A2. "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat version) :B1. "Rivers of Babylon" * UK, US, and Australian CD single # "Oh Carolina" (radio version) – 3:10 # "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat version) – 3:48 # "Oh Carolina" (Uptown 10001 version) # "Bow Wow Wow" * US 12-inch single # "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat version) – 3:15 # "Oh Carolina" (12-inch Flastbush mix) – 3:06 # "Oh Carolina" (radio mix) – 3:53 # "Love Me Up" (Dance Hall mix) – 3:51 # "Love Me Up" (Hip Hot mix) – 3:51 # "Love Me Up" (Version Up) – 3:51 * US cassette single # "Oh Carolina" (radio mix) – 3:53 # "Oh Carolina" (12-inch Flastbush mix) – 3:06 # "Oh Carolina" (Raas Bumba Claat version) – 3:15 # "Love Me Up" (Dance Hall mix) – 3:51

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Dispute over authorship

Following the success of Shaggy's version, John Folkes was involved in a legal dispute with Prince Buster over the authorship. As was common with Jamaican releases of the era, the song was credited on the label to the producer, in this case "C. Campbell" aka

, and Buster claimed that he had written the song about a former girlfriend. Folkes' claim was upheld in the UK High Court in 1994.

Other cover versions

The Jamaican

and

trombonist Rico Rodriguez recorded an instrumental version entitled "Carolina" as a B-side to his 1980 single, "Sea Cruise". In 1993,

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin Castelo Sotto (; born April 28, 1954), professionally known as Vic Sotto, is a Filipino actor, singer and comedian known far and wide for his various television and film projects on the major Philippine television networks GMA ...

Francis Magalona Francis Michael Durango Magalona (October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009), also known by the moniker Francis M, was a Filipino rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, actor, and television personality. Born in Manila, He became a significant influ ...

Richie D'Horsie Ricardo Reyes (September 13, 1956 – April 17, 2015), professionally known as Richie D'Horsie (), was a Filipino actor and comedian. Early life Reyes was born in Manila, Philippines on September 13, 1956. Career Reyes rose to fame as a sidekick ...

and

Michael V. Beethoven Del Valle Bunagan (born December 17, 1969), known professionally as Michael V. and also known as Bitoy, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and recording artist, who appears in the GMA Network show ''Bubble Gang'' and '' Pepito Manaloto ...

covered a Tagalog parody version of the same song from the movie ''Ano Ba Yan? 2''. Jamaican artist Yellowman created a popular cover version on his 1994 album Prayer In February 1995,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n pop-group

Roo'ra Roo'ra (Hangul: 룰라) was a co-ed hip hop and dance-pop vocal group from South Korea who was one of the country's most popular musical acts of the 1990s. The group debuted in 1994 with the hit album ''Roots of Reggae''. Their second album, ''T ...

released a Korean version, with the title "날개 잃은 천사" ("Nalgae irun chunsa"; "Angels that lost their wings").룰라
("Roo'ra") (in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

)

References

{{Authority control 1960 singles 1993 debut singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Shaggy (musician) songs Songs about the United States Songs with music by Henry Mancini 1958 songs Ska songs