VP Records announces the release of “We Remember Bob Andy”, a tribute album featuring 15 artists covering the late Jamaican singer / songwriter’s catalog, scheduled for February 10th, 2023 on CD, vinyl, and all digital streaming platforms.
A Television Jamaica (TVJ) broadcast special will follow on Sunday, February 26th at 9 p.m., featuring Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Nadine Sutherland, Lukie D, Qyor, Sherieta, Duane Stephenson, Romain Virgo, and Kumar, performing songs from the album.
This program is presented in association with the Jamaica Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport as the official culmination of Reggae Month, and will simulcast on VP Records’ YouTube Channel.
Produced by Dean Fraser, “We Remember Bob Andy” includes 15 all-new Bob Andy cover versions from the artists above, plus Luciano, Sanchez, Bitty McLean, Richie Spice, and Olaf Blackwood, extended with ten instrumental versions.
Bob Andy, born Keith Anderson, is celebrated as one of Jamaica’s greatest songwriters, with a catalog including tracks like “Too Experienced,” “My Time,” “Unchained,” “Sun Shines For Me,” “Fire Burning,” and “I’ve Got To Go Back Home,” among dozens of evergreen anthems.
The first single from the album, Bitty McLean’s take on Bob Andy’s “Let Them Say” was released on what would have been Bob Andy’s 78th birthday, October 28, 2022. The song was accompanied by a video directed by Fredi Nwaka.
Bitty McLean’s cover of Bob Andy’s 1968 hit “Let Them Say” is the first single from the album, “We Remember Bob Andy”.
The video, directed by Fredi Nwaka, portrays the struggles of a modern day busker in the streets of London, whose love for his family and his life in music gets him through his hardships – a heartwarming, contemporary interpretation of the Bob Andy original.
Bitty Mclean’s first influence of Jamaican Music was courtesy of his father’s sound system CWS, Chelmsley Wood Sound. His professional career started in 1990 as a sound engineer with Birmingham group UB40, leading him to begin recording and producing his debut album in 1993, scoring 3 UK Top 10 chart hits.
Bitty resurfaced in 2004, producing, recording and mixing the acclaimed “On Bond Street” album. A heavily nostalgic release that leaned into the riddim catalog of the late Duke Reid and his Treasure Isle label.
Tracks including “Walk Away From Love” and “Baby Tonight” have become standards ever since. McLean’s popular “Made To Fall In Love” with Sly & Robbie was released on VP Records’ Reggae Gold 2019 collection.
Produced by Dean Fraser, We Remember Bob Andy will be available on vinyl, digital platforms and as a double CD.
Bitty McLean “Let Them Say” | We Remember Bob Andy | Official Music Video
Alaine and Lukie D’s update of Bob Andy and Marcia Griffith’s “Always Together,” entitled “Really Together” was included on VP’s Strictly The Best Vol. 62 on November 18th, 2022. Tarrus Riley’s “Desperate Lover” was released as a single on January 13th, 2023, click here to listen.
Nadine Sutherland says of Bob Andy :
“He was so wise, he was very very wise, and spiritual too. That was just an incredible man. For me I’m glad that our paths crossed. Because I think I rubbed shoulders with greatness.”
Tarrus Riley, whose version of Andy’s song “Desperate Lover” adds
“You can always maybe find yourself in a Bob Andy song, or you know somebody whose been the subject of the song … so maybe I can relate to the Desperate Lover … but you know, that is why music is here. Music is what feelings sound like. Bob Andy really captured the feeling in the songs.”
