I’ve been listening to Jamaican music for over 50 years now, and although I have to admit that my enthusiasm declined somewhat after the millennium, my love for 1960s and 70s ska, rocksteady and reggae has never diminished. And I love to find the original sources for the hundreds of Jamaican records that are actually covers of soul, pop, jazz and Latin tunes. One such example, “Merry Mood” aka “Ranglin On Bond Street” by The Supersonics, is a fine example of something that is not quite what it appears to be…

It was first released in 1968 on Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label with a default Tommy McCook & The Supersonics credit, and although it was the B side of Ken Parker’s classic “True True True”, it wasn’t particularly well known until it appeared on Heartbeat’s Duke Reid’s Treasure Chest compilation in the mid-1990s. For reasons unknown, the track had been retitled as “Ranglin On Bond Street”, with the artists credited as Ernest Ranglin and Tommy McCook, even though neither of them are playing.

Even the circumstances of the recording are odd. It’s a Sunday afternoon on the corner of Bond Street and Charles Street in downtown Kingston, and The Supersonics house band are gathered in the legendary Treasure Isle studio, although their leader, tenor sax maestro Tommy McCook, is absent, despite being employed as a full time arranger by label and studio owner Duke Reid. Strangely, it just so happens that fellow ex-Skatalite Roland Alphonso, another top flight tenor sax player, is present – a rare event, especially considering that he’s McCook’s main competitor and is currently in the employ of Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s Studio 1, the Duke’s chief rival as a major record label player on the island. Another Studio 1 regular, teenage trombonist Vin Gordon, is also moonlighting at Treasure Isle that afternoon, and vividly remembers Jamaican jazz guitar legend Ernest Ranglin entering the studio with hand written sheet music for this tune, giving the distinct impression that it was a recent composition.

As you can hear, it’s a fantastic piece of reggae, perfectly in keeping with Treasure Isle’s well-deserved reputation for beautiful, atmospheric, jazzy instrumentals. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any other Duke Reid productions from this era that showcase Alphonso’s unmistakable tone and sublime soloing against the background of The Supersonics and Treasure Isle’s signature sound. It’s a shame, but perhaps not surprising given the fierce rivalry between these two producers and the principal musicians. I often wonder if this whole session had been planned knowing that Tommy McCook would be otherwise engaged that day and Ranglin had rehearsed it with Alphonso beforehand? My guess is, like so many great recording sessions, it was all down to serendipity and the stars just happened to align perfectly.

“Merry Mood” is clearly a slightly simplified cover of a jazz original, “Frank’s Tune”, composed by alto sax player Frank Strozier, who performs it on a live recording with the Shelly Manne group in 1966. But by 1968 there was actually another recording, Jack Wilson’s version on Blue Note, recorded for his Easterly Winds album in 1967. So it’s difficult to know exactly which one Ranglin got the idea from.

There’s another reggae version of “Frank’s Tune”, so it’s clear that “Merry Mood” made an impression on others on the island, in this case, Aston and Carlton Barrett, Glen Adams and Reggie Lewis, collectively known as The Hippy Boys. Perhaps they played it on their club gigs in Jamaica, because in 1970, while they were touring the UK as The Upsetters, they recorded an album without any involvement from their main employer Lee Perry, who had apparently decided to go back to Jamaica without them. Trojan released the LP as The Good, The Bad, And The Upsetters – which included their own cut, retitled “Mellow Mood”.

Unfortunately neither “Merry Mood” or “Mellow Mood” ever took off in the dancehalls, and its lack of sound system play probably ensured that no one else has cut another version. However, despite the fact that it will never be recognised as a ‘foundation rhythm’, it remains a consummate example of late 1960s Jamaican music and – contrary to the received wisdom – one of the relatively few covers of a bona fide jazz composition.

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