There’s no shortage of Latin originals to Jamaican tunes, but there’s one name that towers above all others, and that’s Mongo Santamaria, the undisputed king of ska!

Santamaria emigrated from Cuba to the US in 1950, and played congas with Tito Puente’s band before joining Cal Tjader and subsequently forming his own band. His 1963 Watermelon Man album is a motherlode of ska originals, with no less than 11 of 12 tracks covered by The Skatalites for Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd of Studio 1 fame.

“Hammer Head” was written by Marty Sheller, who played trumpet with Santamaria from 1962–67 (that’s his solo on Santamaria’s famous “Watermelon Man”), as well as writing arrangements and compositions such as “Get The Money”, which was also recorded by The Skatalites as “Coconut Rock” (aka “Passing Through”).

The track was released on the rather less covered El Pussy Cat album from 1965, but like so many other Santamaria instrumentals it becomes a fitting vehicle for trumpeter Johnny ‘Dizzy’ Moore and saxophone ace Roland Alphonso, who both contribute stellar solos over the frantic ska rhythm supplied by The Soul Brothers band, who succeeded The Skatalites as the house band at Studio 1. The amended intro, with added vocals and percussion from (presumably) Uziah ‘Sticky’ Thompson, adds to the excitement and is another classic example of how a ska cover can surpass the original by a change of rhythm and attitude.

“Phoenix City” was named – either directly or indirectly – after the 1955 film The Phenix City Story, which tells the story of “America’s wickedest city” and the struggle to clean up the town. It’s probable that West Kingston already had an area (and the gang) named after the film, but it’s difficult to tell exactly how much bearing either might have had on the retitling of the tune, as the inspiration for these often seemed to have come from that day’s Gleaner newspaper, whether from a current news story headline (local and international), or cinema adverts for new films and old favourites from over a decade ago.

Recorded over 50 years ago, “Phoenix City” was hugely popular with mods and skinheads in the late 1960s and early 70s, especially as it was included on the influential compilation album Club Ska ‘67, and was rereleased countless times after that. Although it never entered the pop charts, it was such a dancefloor favourite that by July 1967 a UK recorded cover by John Schroeder was released.

As is often the case with ska instrumentals, “Phoenix City” doesn’t really lend itself to being covered in the later forms of Jamaican music, although The Family Circle (an alias for the renowned Pyramids/Symarip UK reggae band) made a brave attempt in 1969 with the production team of the late Graeme Goodall and the late Phil Chen, both men with impeccable Jamican CVs.

To this day, “Phoenix City” remains one of the best known ska tunes, and has been covered and performed by many of the younger ska bands around the world – and I wonder if Marty Shellar ever heard it.

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 catch up with instalments one, two, three, four and five of the series, too.