Listen: Johnny B. Goode / Peter Tosh
Johnny B. Goode / Peter Tosh

Those first few years of MTV, when it was a free for all, the network really aired a bunch of unable-to-get-radio-play songs/acts. The Ramones’ ‘Rock N Roll High School’ and Joan Armatrading’s ‘(I Love It When You) Call Me Names’ come to mind.

EMI had made a clearly inexpensive clip for Peter Tosh’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’, looking typically washed out just like everything from Jamaica was then. Even THE HARDER THEY COME and ROCKERS films were of poor grainy quality with minimal color saturation. MTV apparently didn’t care, because this was played a lot.

Despite the rather obvious cover choice which kind of kept a tradition of reggae-ing up US pop, soul and rock hits, it was Peter Tosh.

You didn’t want to miss a Peter Tosh show in those days, with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare thundering along behind him on stage. He was always the real deal. Had Steel Pulse or Inner Circle chosen this one, we’d have all dismissed it on arrival, but not when is was the bush doctor.

Corinne loved this track, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard it as a result. Morning, noon and night. She’d definitely go with the extended 12″ version. Me, I’m loyal to the 7.