THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

817-Dillinger-Cokane in My Brain.

1976-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 2.08. You can not learn your ‘A-B-C’ with kitchen utensils alone.

Dillinger was born Lester Randal Bullock, on June 25th, 1953, in Kingston, Jamaica, he was part of what has become known as the second wave of ‘DeeJay Toasters,’ who rose to prominence in the mid 1970’s in Jamaica. Dillinger first gained exposure in the early 1970’s, when performing as a DJ (Toaster) on a ‘sound system,’ calling himself ‘Dennis Alcapone Jr.’ in honour of one of his early influences, Dennis Alcapone. Dillinger’s first recordings were produced by the legendary Jamaican music producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, (1936-2021) (see also best songs 789) but none of them met with any commercial success, it was Perry who gave Dillinger his stage name, naming him after the American gangster of the ‘Great Depression,’ John Dillinger (1903-1934.)

‘Cokane in My Brain’ was the third of four singles released from ‘CB200,’ which was the second studio Album by Dillinger, from 1976, and his first on ‘Island Records.’ All 10 tracks on the Album were written by Dillinger, and produced by Joseph “Jo Jo” Hoo Kim (1942-2018.) There were many big names from the world of ‘Reggae’ playing on the Album, including Sly Dunbar, (drums) Aston Francis Barrett, (bass) (see also best songs 618 and 56) and Ansel Collins (keyboards.)

Joseph “Jo Jo” Hoo Kim was born on December 10th, 1942, in Kingston, Jamaica, he died on September 20th, 2018, after suffering from liver cancer, at the age of 76. Joseph “Jo Jo” Hoo Kim was the oldest of four brothers, who were born to parents of Chinese heritage. The brothers were entrepreneurs, who in the 1960’s were involved in the Jukebox, and Slot Machine industry, but in 1970 the Jamaican Government declared gambling games illegal, so the brothers turned their hand to the music business, launching ‘Channel One Studios’ in 1972, which was from where ‘Dillinger recorded his first tracks for Joseph “Jo Jo” Hoo Kim.

‘Cokane in My Brain’ has proved to be Dillinger’s most successful recording, where in Europe it reached Number 1 in the Netherlands, Number 2 in Belgium, and Number 35 in West Germany, it also ended the year as the seventh best selling single in the Netherlands in 1977. The parent Album ‘CB200’ was also a success in the Netherlands where it peaked at Number 7. ‘Cokane in My Brain’ heavily samples the beat of ‘Do It Any Way You Wanna,’ (see also best songs 604) which was written by Leon Huff, (see also best songs 1001-896-725-648-571-338 and 322) and performed by the American Funk band ‘The Peoples Choice.’

‘Cokane in My Brain’ as the title suggests is about the highly addictive drug ‘Cocaine,’ which when taken, stimulates the brain. In the song Dillinger is telling us that he has taken so much of the substance, that it has taken him over,’No matter where I treat my guests, you see they always like my kitchen best. Cause I’ve cocaine running around my brain.’ The lyrics ‘A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork, that’s the way we spell New York,’ are taken from a popular New York City rhyme that dates back to at least 1910. The children’s rhyme was used in games and activities, such as ‘jump rope,’ and ‘hopscotch.’

Dillinger has recorded 28 studio, and live Albums, between 1975-2007, and there are also dozens of singles, and compilation Albums available. After the success of ‘Cokane in My Brain,’ his commercial success began to dwindle, and for his 11th Album in 1979, he tried to recapture the success of ‘Cokane in My Brain,’ with the similarly themed ‘Marijuana in My Brain,’ which gained moderate success. Dillinger set up his own record label ‘Scandal Bag,’ in the 1990’s, and he has continued to record and tour in to the 21st Century.

‘Hey Jim, Jim, just a minute y’all, I want you spell for me something. I want you spell for me New York, man. Why do you want me to spell New York, man. I just want you to spell for me New York, can you do that, man?’