[TypicalGirls] The Slits - Boston, Great Scott - Mon Oct 30

pascale amzallou pascaleamz at yahoo.com
Tue Oct 31 18:37:46 EST 2006


Far from being a Massive Attack or Horace Andy or even
a
John Holt original (and it was a band John Holt was
in, the
Paragons, who did it, not John solo, and they
originally
performed it circa 1968, not in 1961!), the song
originated 
in Garnet Mimms' 1963 soul tune, "A Quiet Place." 
Long 
the subject of debate, Holt admitted has admitted its
origins
recent years.  The Garnet Mimms original also was
adopted
into a rather different reggae tune called "Johnny
Dollar,"
performed by artists like Dave Barker.  Various reggae
versions of both tracks abound, in addition to the
Slits and
Massive Attack's own takes on the tune.  Quite a
pedigree for
a song that never made it higher than #78 in the
charts!

Sample lyrics from the Mimms original:

I can't get no sleep
In this noisy street
I've got to move
(I've got to move)
I've got to find me
A quiet place

There's a man next door
With a radio and he plays it
All through the night
There's a couple in the
Apartment above my head
That don't do nothing
But fuss and fight

That said, the Paragons' version is a highly original
adaptation,
so some credit is due them, and the Slits' take was
obviously
inspired by the Paragons' version, not the Mimms
original.

Pascale

> "Man Next Door" was originally performed by reggae
> artist John Holt in 1961.
> Massive Attack's cover was Holt's lyrics and also
> included a sample of The
> Cure's "10:15 Saturday Night."



 
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