Guns of Navarone (song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Guns Of Navarone" is a song and single by Jamaican group The Skatalites. The music was written by Dimitri Tiomkin for the 1961 film of the same name, the soundtrack of which was released on 1 January 1961.
AllMusic describes the song as a masterpiece of the ska genre with its feeling of optimism with a "jubilant harmonic horn chorus". The vocalist is Roland Alphonso, with Lee "Scratch" Perry who provided various shouts on the track. The rhythm section of drummer Lloyd Knibb and bassist, Lloyd Brevett provided sharp rim shots and a "thumping bass". Originally released in Jamaica on Coxsone Dodd's Muzik City label in 1965 under Alphonso's name, it was re-released the same year in the UK on Island using a slightly shorter edit. However, it did not appear in the UK charts until 1967, making number 36 in the spring of that year and staying on the charts for six weeks. It was The Skatalites' only hit in the UK.
The Specials version
The song was again a hit when included on the UK Chart-topping The Special A.K.A. Live! EP by The Specials in 1980. The Specials version was a mostly instrumental version featuring scat-like toasting by Neville Staple and trombone by veteran ska musician Rico Rodriguez.
