Shaggy has had many many hits since he burst onto the pop scene with “Oh Carolina” in 1993, but in my opinion none of them come close to that song. Nope not even “Boombastic”. I never really wondered where the awesome old skool intro and beat came from, but it turns out there’s an interesting history behind this seemingly simple catchy song.

“Oh Carolina” was a hit by the The Folkes Brothers thirty years before Shaggy’s souped-up version. Apparently, it is widely recognized as the most important single in Reggae, Ska and Rocksteady history! Before “Oh Carolina” Jamaican radio was filled with exact imitations of American Rhythm & Blues songs by Jamaican artists who seemed to have abandoned their culture in music. Until The Folkes Brothers, accompanied by legendary Rastafari drummer Count Ossie, unprecendeted use of the local singing style and African beats established a distinctively Jamaican sound. Artists started to combine their roots with the R & B elements and suddenly the tiny island became a significant influence in music. Three decades later Shaggy’s rendition of the song broke another musical barrier and became the first underground New York Dancehall single to make it onto the mainstream charts.

That blows my mind, I never thought that the tune that I danced to at every single kid’s party when I was twelve had such a big impact in music history. Find out more about the song, including the original lyrics here.

Phew, I had a hard time finding it, but here is the wonderful original Folkes Brother’s version urging girls not to cry. You can clearly hear that it stands at the cradle of the musical styles we now associate with Jamaica:

   The Folkes Brothers – Oh Carolina

And here’s Shaggy urging girls to wind their body. Oh, how times have changed:

   Shaggy – Oh Carolina