Listen To or Download Dennis Brown “Money In My Pocket” from the Lightning Records 45

So we’re back here at FMF. I took a small review break, as my vacation and DJ schedule got a little hectic. I figured for now we’d get back into the swing of records right after the holiday break here in the States. I got some really great sides when I was in the UK, and even though it’s common as hell across the pond, it’s not here. Plus it’s a really great side, and well, I’m a sucker for a good 45. Especially if it’s a UK pressing (the 45 with the little hole). Here is a Reggae Classic from the late, great Dennis Brown. It’s “Money In My Pocket” on Lightning Records reissued from 1979.

Born in 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica, Brown went on to have a career in Reggae music for more than 30 years. He worked with great producers such as Joe Gibbs, Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, Niney The Observer Holness, Derrick Harriot, Sly & Robbie and Prince Jammy among others. His resume speaks for itself: From his humble beginnings as a teen crooner to his explosion as a singer in Jamaica, Dennis Brown will forever be etched in our minds and ears as an ambassador of Reggae music. Early hits such as “No Man Is An Island” led to this record, “Money In My Pocket”, originally recorded in 1972, but here reissued in 1979. The backing band was the Soul Syndicate. A version credited to Big Youth and Brown was released shortly after, entitled “A-So We Stay (Money in Hand)”. As he moved forward in his career he would go from Lover’s Rock to Roots to Dancehall, leaving his mark on them all. Whether in Jamaica, or later on in his life in the UK, you can’t deny Dennis Brown’s presence and impact on the world of Reggae. It would be an injustice if I tried to recap this whole man’s career, and in fact, might end up being the longest post I ever had here at FMF. I will leave that to the experts. Dennis Brown did die in 1999 from pneumonia (a result from rumored prolonged cocaine use), and he is sorely missed.

This record was one I dug up while I was in London. I could have (if I wanted to spend hundreds of pounds) went hog wild and just got records I have never dreamed of seeing here in the states. However, I decided to pick up this record, because it’s a song I really dig, and it’s a record that I never see over here, especially in a UK press. It may be common over in the UK, but to me it was like finding something I never thought I would in the field. This post is less about the artist and his history (because you can get that anywhere), but more about the song and actual record itself. I never really get sentimental about a side, but if it’s gonna happen, I’m glad it’s Dennis Brown. Keep Diggin’!