Pass The Version
Pass The version on the left hand side
In 1982 there suddenly was a new song that everybody liked: Pass The Dutchie from Musical Youth. A Reggaesong with ‘Little Michael Jackson’ kinda vocals and ‘Jackson Five” feel. The song was a top ten hit in a lot of countries worldwide, selling 5 million copies in total.
Compilation
Listen to a compilation of the original tracks.
U Roy – Rule The Nation / The Mighty Diamonds – Pass The Kouchie / Hugh Brown – Gimme The Music / The Sound Demensions – Full Up
Construction
This song was constructed from four separate tracks.
The intro
Taken from U-Roy’s Rule The Nation
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Hugh Roy or U Roy / Musical Youth
Words were changed into the mysterious “This generation, rules the nation, with version’. A big discussion at the time: ‘what did he say’? We never knew it was ‘Version’, it was pronounced like ‘Vressiaah’.
Main parts of the song
Original by a band called Mighty Diamonds: Pass The Kouchie.
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The Mighty Diamonds / Musical Youth
A ‘kouchie’ is a kind of pipe to smoke marihuana with. As being part of the Rastaman religion smoking ‘herb’ was openly sung about. For a band with Dennis Seaton being the leadsinger at the age of 15 it was no good idea however. Changing the song to a kind of political statement, hence ‘How Does It Feel When You Got No Food’ was at that time in the UK relevant. so it became the song about a Dutch cooking pot. Funny thing is that since then the term ‘Dutchie’ is known for a kind of rolled up marihuana-sigar…
Next part
This is U-Brown -or Hugh Brown as stamped in this Jamaican seven inch single- with his “Gimme The Music”, also used at the start of the song. The year of the single-release is unknown but generally referred to as 1981.
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Hugh or U Brown / Musical Youth
The last part
This track is called ‘Full Up’ from Jackie Mittoo and his Sound Dimensions. The music where The Mighty Diamonds – ” Pass The Kouchie” is based on.
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Jackie Mittoo & Sound Demensions
My copy of the 7 inch release states: ‘The Sound Demensions’. Putting to vinyl in 1968 it is one of the songs that is used in many later songs and versions. As with Reggae music you might never know who started the first version, might it be in a completely other genre or from another part of the world. A story in it’s own. From 1975 and on it is used in more then a hundred other songs (whosampled.com)!
The person who constructed ‘Pass The Dutchie’ was creative . Was it Manager (and father of bandmember Patrick Waite) Frederick Waite Sr. who had the idea? He was originally part of Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae band The Techniques from the early sixties. And familiar to the original songs and method of using -part of’ other songs.