Montego Bay (song)

"Montego Bay" is a song by Bobby Bloom about the city in Jamaica. The song was a Top 10 hit for Bloom in September 1970 on both sides of the Atlantic. It reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #5 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart,^[1] #7 on the Australian Go-Set Singles Chart and #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was co-written and produced by Jeff Barry. In the master tape of the song, Bloom breaks into a verse of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" at the end of the recording, but the single version fades out before that. Apparently, that was done to avoid paying royalties for use of the Rodgers & Hammerstein song (although the full version does appear on the Bobby Bloom Album and has received frequent airplay).

New Zealander Jon Stevens' cover version of the song hit #1 in his native country on January 18, 1980.^[2]

Covers

• (1970) Freddie Notes & The Rudies - (Trojan Records)
• (1971) Bar-Kays on their album, Black Rock
• (1978) Sugar Cane - a minor UK disco hit for the U.S. male/female vocal group - highest position in UK Singles Chart - #54
• (1980) Jon Stevens
• (1983) Allniters - a Top 40 hit for an Australian ska band.
• (1986) Amazulu - It became a minor hit in the U.S. in September 1986, but was a #16 hit in the UK.
• (2005) Les Fradkin - on his CD Under The Covers.
• (2011) Ashley Potter covered it but it failed to reach the UK chart.

References

1. ^ Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.3723&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=msnvgu5v4a643al8ugim1ea684
2. ^ New Zealand History Online. http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/montego-bay-hits-number-one