"Montego Bay" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

co-written and performed by Bobby Bloom about the city in Jamaica of the same name. The song was a top 10

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

for Bloom in the Fall of 1970 on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. It reached No. 3 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 ...

, No. 5 on the Canadian ''

RPM 100 ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

'' Singles Chart, No. 7 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart and No. 8 on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

. The song was co-written and produced by

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

. In the master tape of the song, Bloom breaks into a chorus of "

Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" is the opening song from the musical ''Oklahoma!'', which premiered on Broadway in 1943. It was written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The leading male character in ''Oklah ...

" at the end of the recording. The song features a whistler, as well as Jamaican instruments in a calypso style. Bloom's recording of the song appeared in the 1997 film '' The Ice Storm''.

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Freddie Notes & the Rudies cover ;Sugar Cane cover ;Jon Stevens cover ;Quarrington/Worthy cover ;Allniters cover ;Amazulu cover

Year-end charts

Jon Stevens version

In January 1980, New Zealand recording artist

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is ...

released a version as a single. It peaked at number one in New Zealand, allowing Stevens to replace himself at number one, and stayed there for two weeks.

Track listing

Vinyl, 7-inch, 45 RPM # "Montego Bay" 2:50 # "Sha La La" 4:25

Charts

Year-end charts

Other recordings

* (1970) Freddie Notes & The Rudies - (

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

) * (1971)

The Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) i ...

on their album ''Black Rock'' * (1971)

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

on his album ''Happyning'' * (1974) Foster, Pat, & Angie Sylvers on their album '' Foster Sylvers Featuring Pat & Angie Sylvers'' * (1978) Sugar Cane - a minor UK disco hit for the U.S. male/female vocal group. Highest position in UK Singles Chart - No. 54 * (1983) Allniters - a Top 20 hit for an Australian

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 ...

band. * (1986)

Amazulu Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Nata ...

- reached No. 16 in the UK and No. 6 in Canada and was a minor hit in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in September 1986 * (2005)

Les Fradkin Les Fradkin (born 1951) is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show ''Beatlemania''. In addition to playing MIDI guitar, ...

- on his CD ''Under The Covers''

References

External links

NZ On Screen - Montego Bay music video
{{Authority control 1970 singles 1978 singles 1980 singles 1983 singles 1986 singles Calypso songs CBS Records singles Jon Stevens songs Montego Bay Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs about Jamaica Songs written by Bobby Bloom Songs written by Jeff Barry

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Jon Stevens version

Track listing

Charts

Year-end charts

Other recordings

See also

References

External links