Paragons | With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Under The Covers With Mayhem – Chapter 13 March 3, 2025

Filed under: Under The Covers With Mayhem — justwilliam1959 @ 10:15 pm
Tags: Atomic Kitten, Beatles, Blackbird, Blackbird Singing, Blondie, John Holt, Paragons, Paul McCartney, The Tide Is High

Here comes Under The Covers With Mayhem Chapter 13, featuring the iconic reggae band the Paragons with Roslyn Sweat and their take on the Beatles (Paul McCartney) song “Blackbird”. Their version is titled “Blackbird Singing” and I think it came out in 1974 on the Treasure Isle label. The band formed in Jamaica the 1960s. Many of you might not realise, but Blondie’s huge 1980 hit “The Tide Is High” was originally by the Paragons. Atomic Kitten also took the song into the charts in 2002. My favourite Paragons track is probably “Wear You To The Ball”. John Holt, who went on to massive solo success in the 70s was once the band’s lead vocalist. He also wrote “The Tide Is High”. Reggaefied covers of classic songs are often good, but I believe that this cover of “Blackbird” is stunning. What do you think?

Constant readers know that my ideal cover version has a different slant from the original rather than just a facsimile-style cover. So the generic boy bands are probably never likely to feature, but you never know, right? Feel free to recommend any songs that you think should be included in Under The Covers With Mayhem. I want to stay clear of the mainstream ideally, but off-the-wall covers by major artists might work too 🙂 Finally and at last there is a playlist that collects all the Under The Covers With Mayhem tracks together. Currently fifteen songs and 58 and a half minutes of music. Check it out below.

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“I’m gonna make you the talk of town, no use wearing a frown” October 20, 2014

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 7:51 pm
Tags: 1000 Volts Of Holt, Ali Baba, Alton Ellis, Blondie, Bunny Lee, Duke Reid, Errol Dunkley, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Jamaica, John Holt, Kris Kristofferson, Leslie Kong, Mr Bojangles, OK Fred, Paragons, Peacemaker, Prince Buster, Tide Is High, Touch Me In The Morning, Wear You To The Ball, You Baby

I just heard the sad news that reggae legend John Holt has died. His manager confirmed that he passed away in a London hospital on Sunday night. He was just 67. He started out as the lead singer of the Paragons and wrote many of their songs; including “Wear You To The Ball” and “The Tide Is High“. The latter went on to become an international hit for Blondie in the 80s and later for Atomic Kitten. I always preferred the Paragons original version. He also recorded as a solo artist while he was with the Paragons cutting tracks like the original of “OK Fred” in 1979. This was later a UK hit for Errol Dunkley in 1979. He recorded tracks with legendary reggae figures such as Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Bunny Lee, Prince Buster and Alton Ellis.

He recorded and released many albums and singles and was a superstar in Jamaica. Sadly in the UK he was never as popular. His 1974 cover of Kris Kristofferson‘s “Help Me Make It Through The Night” reached number 6 in the UK chart. He released his last solo album, ‘Peacemaker’ in 1993. I still have a copy of the fabulous ‘1,000 Volts Of Holt’ album from 1973, only the CD version though. My vinyl copy wore out years ago.