THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

952-Dennis Brown-Money in My Pocket.

1979-Number 14 single.

Best Bit-At 3.43. I am the very proud owner of this song on beautiful mint condition 12 inch vinyl. It probably has no monetary value, and besides I don’t even own a record player to play it on, but it’s lovely to look at.

Dennis Emmanuel Brown was born on February 1st, 1957, in Kingston, Jamaica, in the late 1990’s his health began to deteriorate, as he developed respiratory problems, probably caused by many years of drug addiction, mainly with cocaine. He died on July 1st, 1999, at the age of 42, having had a cardiac arrest, with the official cause of death being a collapsed lung. After Bob Marley, (1945-1981) (see also best songs 618 and 56) Dennis Brown is probably the most revered artist to come out of Jamaica, he was one of the leading protagonists in the genre of ‘Lovers Rock,’ which is a style of Reggae music noted for it’s romantic sound, and content. Bob Marley cited Dennis Brown as his favourite singer, and calling him ‘The Crown Prince of Reggae.’

Dennis Brown who cited Nat King Cole (1919-1965) (see also best songs 988-327-226 and 161) as great early influence, was a child star in Jamaica, he started singing professionally at the age of 11, and recorded his first single at the age of 12. Brown was a prolific singer/songwriter, and released over 80 Albums between 1970-1999, there have also been over 30 posthumous Albums that have been issued between 2000-2020. During his career Dennis Brown recorded alongside many of the best known names in Reggae production, and also with many of the most successful Reggae performers.

‘Money in My Pocket’ was co-written by Dennis Brown and Joe Gibbs, with the production also being by Gibbs. Dennis Brown had recorded the original version of the song as far back as 1972, with the production being by Winston ‘Niney’ Holness, on behalf of Gibbs. Holness who also played a major part in launching the career of Dennis Brown acquired his nickname ‘Niney’ after losing a thumb in a workshop accident. It was through ‘Money in My Pocket’ that Dennis Brown achieved international success. In 1978 the song was relaunched as a ‘Discomix’ on the ‘Lightning Records’ label, which was a London based label that specialised in ‘Disco,’ ‘Reggae,’ and ‘Dub’ music. A ‘Discomix’ is a ‘Reggae’ 12 inch mix that includes the full length version of a song, including the ‘Toasting.’ For ‘Money in My Pocket’ the original ‘Dub’ part was replaced by the toasting vocals of Prince Mohammed, who was born George Knooks, in 1968, in Kingston, Jamaica. ‘Toasting’ was a forerunner to ‘Rap,’ and was performed by DJ’s in Jamaica in the 1960’s, on their sound systems, at dances. ‘Money in My Pocket’ was released as a 12 inch single in 1978 that ran for just short of eight minutes, and it was also issued as a seven inch single, with Dennis Brown featured on the ‘A’ side, (part 1) and the Prince Mohammed version, featuring Dennis Brown on side ‘B,’ (part 2) which was known as the ‘Cool Runnings’ version.

Joe Gibbs was born Joel Arthur Gibson on October 14th, 1942, in Salt Spring, St. James, Jamaica, he died of a heart attack on February 22nd, 2008, at the age of 65. Gibbs was one of the most important names in the development of Reggae music, initially working with the equally influential Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (1936-2021) (see also best songs 817 and 789) In 1975 Gibbs began working with fellow Jamaican Errol Thompson, (1948-2004) and the pair would become collectively known as the ‘Mighty Two.’ Together they produced for artists including Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, (1951-2010) and most notably, (commercially) being the co-producers of the 1978 UK Number 1 single ‘Uptown Top Ranking,’ for Althea & Donna (see also best songs 101.) In 1977 Gibbs and Thompson co-produced an Album called ‘Two Sevens Clash,’ for the Jamaican ‘Roots Reggae’ group ‘Culture,’ this Album became a major influence on the then emerging ‘Punk’ scene, and was also an internationally acclaimed production. The album has been cited by the ‘Punk Rock’ band ‘The Clash’ (see also best songs 867-638 and 294) as a major influence.

‘It’s hard for a man to live without a woman, and a woman needs a man to cling to. You’ll see what love can do after making me feel blue, ain’t that a shame, yeah, whoa baby ain’t that a shame, yeah, to make me feel blue, whoa yeah.’