OK Fred

"OK Fred" is a song and single by Jamaican singer-songwriter, John Holt.[1] It was first released in 1971.[2]

"OK Fred"
Single by John Holt
B-side"Jamaica Bag"
Released1971
GenreReggae
LabelStudio One
Songwriter(s)John Holt
Producer(s)Coxsone Dodd
"OK Fred"
Single by Errol Dunkley
B-side"OK Fred (instrumental version)"
Released1979
GenreReggae
LabelScope
Songwriter(s)John Holt
Producer(s)Ossie Hibbert

Background

Errol Dunkley states that the song is about an up-town girl who falls for a down-town guy who is a non-conformist in the way he dresses and wants to become care-free like him. Jamaican parents might tell their unkempt children, "Fix up youself, put you shirt in you trousers, you look like a yaga yaga" [sic].[3] AllMusic gave a different version, saying the song describes the singer's prowess and technique with the opposite sex.[2] The song is considered a cross over hit due to being by a Jamaican artist but appealing to a white audience.[4]

Holt's version features Vin Gordon on trombone. It was produced by Coxsone Dodd.[2] The song was covered with greater chart success by Dunkley.[5]

Chart success

Holt's version did not chart in the UK. Dunkley's version reached 11 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, staying therein for 11 weeks.[6]

gollark: I mean, BF is very simple. Yet, memory-safe BF would be nightmarishly hard.
gollark: No it wouldn't. Assembly has you wildly do anything ever to registers and memory.
gollark: I regularly put up with as much as *5* seconds.
gollark: Imagine having a project containing multiple compilation units.
gollark: What if you capture the NameErrors to make lazy evaluation lazier and more inevitable?

References
  1. "OK Fred John Holt". 45cat.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  2. "OK Fred". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. Dunkley, Errol. "OK Fred's Meaning". YouTube. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  4. Jones, Simon (1988). Black culture, white youth: the reggae tradition from JA to UK. Macmillan Education. ISBN 9780333452554.
  5. "OK Fred". Discogs.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  6. "Errol Dunkley". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
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