"River Bank", also "River bank Coverly" and "River Bank Coberley", is a traditional Jamaican song. The song is an old Jamaican

mento Mento is a style of Music of Jamaica, Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

standard. It has been adapted both by Reggae musicians, and also by jazz musicians, such as trumpeter

Baba Brooks Oswald "Baba" Brooks (born c.1935) was a trumpet player who played jazz in the 1950s with the Eric Dean orchestra and recorded during the 1960s original Jamaican ska era for producers Duke Reid, Sonia Pottinger and her husband Lindon, King Edwar ...

who reworked "River Bank" into "Bank to Bank".Lloyd Bradley Bass culture: when reggae was king - Page 98 2000 "Really, it's least surprising that mento, the original Jamaican music form, should come to the fore: Independence Day ... by Shenley Duffus, and trumpeter Baba Brooks' reworking of the old mento standard 'River Bank' into 'Bank to Bank'."

Versions

*"River Bank Covalley",

Louise Bennett Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, Bennett worked to preserve the practice of p ...

, on Folkways Records, US 1957 *"River Bank",

, on Dutchess, Jamaica (released as "Bank to Bank" on Island, UK 1963) *"River Bank Jump Up",

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...

, on Kentone Jamaica 1964 (released as "River Bank" on Parlophone, UK 1964) *"River Bank Coberley Again" The Four Aces (Jamaican group), on Island, UK 1965 *"River to the Bank",

Derrick Morgan Derrick Morgan (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", '' Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worke ...

, on Crab, UK 1968 *"River Bank", adapted by

Headley Bennett Felix Headley Bennett OD (29 May 1931 – 21 August 2016), also known as Deadly Headley, was a Jamaican saxophonist who performed on hundreds of recordings since the 1950s. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Bennett attended the Alpha Boys ...

, on Roots From The Yard, Jamaica 1978 *"River Bank", adapted by L. Carter, recorded by

Prince Jazzbo Linval Roy Carter (3 September 1951 – 11 September 2013), better known as Prince Jazzbo, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer. Career Born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Kingston, Linval Roy Carter (who would ...

, on Wild Flower, Jamaica 1975 *"River Bank", Randy's All Stars on Musicland, Jamaica 1970

References

Jamaican folk songs Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown {{Song-stub