Dennis Brown’s 1970 cut “No Man Is An Island” was a very early highlight of his career and a true reggae classic, although according to ace reggae producer Derrick Harriott, it should have appeared on his Crystal label rather than Studio 1. By all accounts, Brown was lined up to record the song for Harriott but was somehow waylaid before the session and ended up voicing it for Coxsone Dodd instead.

Naturally Harriott – a fine singer in his own right - made sure the idea didn’t go to waste by recording it himself, on the Song Bird label.

Both Dennis Brown’s and Derrick Harriott’s versions are based on the original by The Van Dykes, a Texas based, Impressions influenced soul and doowop vocal group. “No Man Is An Island” was written by the group’s lead singer Rondalis Tandy, and released in 1965, but Tandy (a minister’s son) had got the idea for the song from the opening line of a sermon (later a poem) written in 1624 by clergyman and metaphysical poet John Donne while he was Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral. Meditation XVII is from a series of writings he called Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, and is one of Donne’s best known works.

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of they friends`s or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

The song was revived a few years later with recordings from Horace Andy, John Holt and Gregory Isaacs, but the best and most successful cut was created by the late George Oban for his Movement (later Motion) project. Oban’s version is a superb Latin flavoured lovers rock classic which rocked the clubs and blues dances when released on a 12” in 1980.

There’s another song with the same title – derived from the same idea – written in 1950 by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer, and although it was popular and probably had some sort of influence on Tandy's version, the melody and lyrics are very different. The best known is probably by The Lettermen and for us UK residents of a certain age there's the late, great Harry Secombe to enjoy!

Chris Lane is a label boss, writer, producer and selector based in London. Subscribers can read more about his Fashion Records label in Neil Kulkarni’s feature in The Wire 421 via Exact Editions. You can also catch up with instalments one, two, three, four, five and six