Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)
"Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" is a 1980 single by jazz trumpeter, Tom Browne. The single -- a memoir of the neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised -- is from his second solo album, Love Approach. The vocals for the single were provided by Tonni Smith, who also helped compose the song. The song hit number one on the U.S. R&B chart for a month.[1] "Funkin' for Jamaica" peaked at number nine on the dance chart[2] and made the Top 10 on the UK singles chart.
DJ Tōwa Tei released his remix cover version as a single in both 1999 and 2001, which featured Les Nubians on vocals, performing part of the song in French.
In 2001, the song's intro was sampled on the Mariah Carey single, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)" for the soundtrack to Carey's film, Glitter.[3]
In 2006, contemporary jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall covered the song from his album "Samoa Soul."[4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 88.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 46.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 85.
- ^ "Samoa Soul overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r852776.
- ^ "Patrick Yandall - Samoa Soul". SmoothViews.com. http://www.smoothviews.com/cdreviews/yandell_samoasoul.htm.
| Preceded by "Give Me the Night" by George Benson |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one single October 4 – October 21, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Master Blaster (Jammin')" by Stevie Wonder |
