“London Calling,” the Clash double LP released 40 years ago this month, stunned audiences who thought punk rockers were just a bunch of low-talent yobs by presenting a array of rock and roll musical styles reinvigorated with punk-rock energy. Three of the 19 tracks were covers, including this remake of a fairly obscure Jamaican track that was on the jukebox in their rehearsal space. Bassist Paul Simonon loved the song and lobbied for the band to learn it. As is the case with every song they covered, the Clash made it their own.
I had to look a bit to find an upload of the original CD rather than the remastered re-release, which cleans up the sound too much for my taste.
The original is by the Rulers. It had a much slower beat, more typical of Jamaican music in 1967, when it was released. The song is yet another retelling of the true story of the killing of Billy Lyons by “Stag” Lee Shelton in a St. Louis barroom on Christmas Day 1895. It had been turned into a song by 1897.
