He also put a bunch of new lyrics to World Upside Down, didn't he.
Do reggae artists still allow use of their songs in that way?
Reggae singers, musicians and producers have always had a
unique view of things like copyright.
That probably stems from the old Jamaican practice of a dozen singers all making records with the same instrumental track. Something they still do to this day. If a producer has a hot
riddim, thy will fully exploit it, until people can't stand to hear it anymore. It's something that has always puzzled people in the music business outside of Jamaica.
It's funny because all of those Jamaican singers do other people's songs (or have done them), but many of them get wound up in royalty disputes of their own. So they are a bit schizophrenic when it comes to who should get paid for a song.
Notice that Jimmy Cliff put his name on the Joe Higgs song. He considers himself a co-writer because he replaced some lyrics? I don't know, but that's pretty typical.
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By the way, for any of you who like reggae and haven't checked out Joe Higgs, you should definitely do so. He's an originator. He tutored the young Wailers, and even went on tour with them in the early 70s when Bunny quit.
He's a great songwriter, one of many from Jamaica you may have never heard of. Guys like Joe Higgs and Bob Andy, had they grown up in Detroit or Philadelphia, would have probably become famous R&B singer/songwriters. I'm glad they made reggae, but they may have made more money up here.
Or not, considering the way things usually went back in the day.
