October 22, 1982 - Musical Youth and Pass The Dutchie

About six weeks after my last release a new band briefly joins my library when British-Jamaican reggae group Musical Youth released their debut album "The Youth Of Today" on October 22, 1982. It contains the hit single "Pass The Dutchie" (the only song I have by this band) which was a number 1 hit when it was released. But who are Musical Youth? They were a 5-piece reggae band formed in Birmingham, England and all members contribute vocals except for bassist Patrick Waite. He's joined by his brother Freddie Waite (drums), Dennis Seaton (percussion) and another pair of brothers Kelvin (guitars) and Michael Grant (keyboards). These guys were another one-hit wonder, but this song is very catchy and popularized the direction in which to pass a marijuana joint. "Pass The Dutchie" opens with the line "this generation rules the nation" and after a bit of scat singing moves into the catchy chorus, where we hear everyone sing "pass the Dutchie on the left hand side". The chorus is driven by some light catchy keyboards and it leads right into the first  verse where the band form a nice reggae riff. I'm not sure who is singing what parts, but the verse sounds like it's done by an older member with a younger voice doing the catchy backing vocals. It's got  a very catchy beat and it's fun to sing along to so it's no surprise this was a very popular song. The lyrics describe the youth learning the title phrase from Rastafarians and it leads right into another catchy chorus. After another verse and chorus the younger singer goes off on his own verse and he sings pretty quickly overtop the slow main beat. This leads to another chorus and they jam it out while the young singer continues his quick vocals until the song fades to a close. This song isn't winning any awards for musical prowess, but it's certainly catchy and one I'm happy to have. 

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