Most folks my age are more familiar with “A Message to You, Rudy†in the form of a 1979 cover version by The Specials. Little do we realize that it was originally a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone.
Livingstone’s original never really made it on the charts, but the nearly identical version by the Specials, some 12 years later, made #10 on the UK chart and got some play in the US.
The Specials version starts with a drum-fill solo, but from there it’s hard to tell the two apart. They both feature the same trombone player, Ricco Rodriguez, although more prominently on the Specials cover, where the 1967 original brings the saxophone part forward for the bridge.
Lyrically, the two versions differ only slightly, but both have the same underlying sentiment: stop messing about around town and straighten up. If anything, I’d say that Livingstone was a smoother singer, where the Specials employ more of a group effort through the song. Livingstone’s singing gives the song an easier feel and somehow it sounds longer, although they’re both fundamentally the same length.
Here’s a video from Old Grey Whistle Test:
While I’ve spent my time concentrating on the two main versions of the song, I’d be remiss if I skipped other renditions I found along the way.
First there was the live performance by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros ca. 1992. I’ve got a lot of respect for Strummer, from his days in The Clash as well as his work with The Pogues, and The Mescaleros. Their version of “A Message to You, Rudy†can only be described as loose – the long night of drinking kind of loose – but not automatically bad.
Then I happened across a 1992 live version by Billy Bragg. It’s smooth and slow, much like Livingstone’s original. I actually quite like it for what it is.
Along the way I also discovered live versions by Amy Winehouse (awful, off-key), Peter Doherty (not half bad, acoustic, worth a listen), and hardcore punk act The Dead Milkmen (interesting, not punked out in the least.)
As much as I grew up on the Specials version of the song, the original by Dandy Livingstone is the winner in my book. It has a nice feel to it that’s really quite charming.