Description
SUSAN CADOGAN is back with a new vintage reggae project produced by Mitch “King Kong” Girio of King Apparatus fame. The original “Take Me Back” EP was released in 2016 and featured 5 songs, ranging from lovers rock to ska, early reggae to roots. The EP immediately drew rave reviews worldwide, and SUSAN was soon doing BBC interviews just like the old days when she was Top of The Pops with “Hurts So Good”! We at JUMP UP immediately wanted to release it on vinyl and cassette, and asked Mitch Girio to kick out some new versions, dubs, and remixes to expand the project to 10 tracks. These 5 tracks range from spacey dub to Jamaican mento – a fantastic bonus! The EXPANDED version is now available on limited edition cassette tape (100 copies) and LP vinyl on white and pink vinyl. If you have a preference of vinyl color, send us a message at jumpuprecords@gmail.com. Everyone should know SUSAN’s work, so please read the below bio….
With a delicate voice that shimmers between childlike innocence and smoldering sexuality, Susan Cadogan’s vocals were the perfect expression of lovers rock. Born Alison Anne Cadogan on November 2, 1951, in Kingston, Jamaica, she came from a musical family, and her mother had in fact released a number of gospel records during her childhood. Jamaican Broadcasting Company DJ Jerry Lewis was introduced to her through a school friend, and was so impressed by her voice he took her into the JBC studio in 1974 to record his own composition, “Love My Life”. As luck would have it, producer Lee “Scratch” Perry was at JBC that same day, swiftly swooping in, renaming her Susan, and immediately went to work in the studio recording an album’s worth of cover songs. The first fruit was the rousing “Hurts So Good,” a cover of Millie Jackson’s soul classic, released on his Perries label. Even though the single included the Zap Pow horn section and bassist Boris Gardiner, it received little attention from the Jamaican public. It was a different story in Britain, where Perry licensed the song and topped the reggae charts. Magnet Records came knocking and also licensed the song, propelling it into the Top Five of the U.K. national charts. Cadogan was soon on her way to London, making several national TV appearances including “Top of the Pops”. While there she inked a long term deal with Magnet, prompting Perry to license his own recordings with her to a variety of small U.K. labels, including the “Hurts So Good” album on Trojan in 1976. Magnet’s “Doing It Her Way” album failed to chart, its crisp Pete Waterman production and lightweight choice of songs didn’t connect with roots reggae fans or pop ones in the end. Cadogan hopefully hung on in Britain until 1977, when she called it a day and returned home to Jamaica and her old job at the university library. Then, out of the blue in 1982, Cadogan was back on the Jamaican chart with the Smokey Robinson’s classic “Tracks of My Tears.” Apparently, much of the island’s public had grown weary of roots, social fatigue had set in and fans craved the “new” lovers rock style. Richly romantic, gentle, and soothing, it was perfect for Cadogan’s own stylings. Two more hits followed in 1982: “Piece of My Heart” and “Love Me.” She topped the chart the next year with an Ruddy Thomas duet, “(You Know How to Make Me) Feel So Good,” and the pair followed up with a second smash, “Only Heaven Can Wait.” In 1984, Cadogan delivered two more chart winners, “Cause You Love Me Baby” and “Don’t Know Why.” Then, just as swiftly as she had appeared, the singer vanished, leaving the music industry entirely. It was almost a decade before she resurfaced, this time accompanied by English producer Mad Professor, who released her 1992 album “Soulful Reggae” on his Ariwa imprint. Cadogan caught the music bug once more in 2001, and she performed live at the Heineken Startime Series event in Kingston. More recently, she has toured together with Glen Adams and The Slackers as well as with the Portuguese band The Ratazanas.
