It was the summer of 1982 and Roland Burrell was looking for his first hit song after nearly 10 years in the music business. He got it with Johnny Dollar, recorded at Channel One studio with producer Alton “Tanka” Hill.
A cover of American soul singer Garnet Mimms’ 1964 hit, A Quiet Place, Johnny Dollar featured Sly and Robbie who at the time were the hottest musicians in reggae. It topped reggae charts in Jamaica, the United States and the United Kingdom.
urrell recently revisited the song, doing a fresh version for Wildfire Records, a Philadelphia-based label. Earl Messam, head of that independent company, told Observer Online that the new edition will be released in August as part of Wildfire Records’ Champions In Action compilation album.
That set will also contain songs by singers Ian Sweetness and Tia.
Messam and Burrell have known each other for “donkey years”. Both are from Pennants district in Clarendon and in recent years, Burrell has recorded a number of songs for Wildfire Records including a cover of Slim Smith’s My Conversation.
After scoring a number one with Johnny Dollar, Burrell followed-up in 1982 with Stormy Night, another Hill production, which also did well in Jamaica and the UK. That song was originally done by Creation Steppers seven years earlier.
Howard Campbell
