1951
TEND TO YOUR BUSINESS * JAMES WAYNE * OLDIES 45 * JA
Originally released on Bob Shad's New York based Sittin' In With label #588, his second for the label, Tend To Your Business is an early R&B track full of originality and raw power, ingredients that are often found in the first wave of every new shift in style, musical or otherwise.
Written and sung by James Wayne the laid back and dirty sounding 'shuffle' beat Tend To Your Business was a #2 hit on the Billboard R&B charts in 1951, and stayed on the charts for some 14 weeks. His follow up Junco Partner became a standard for the song.
The 'Oldies 45' seen above is a Jamaican boot leg copy possibly pressed some time in the late 1960s early 1970s (it was never an official Oldies 45 release) and has the name 'Sir Dee's' and 'Cool Sounds' written implying that this disc once belonged to the Sir Dee's Sound System. With its mellow and earthy sound this type of R&B recording was instrumental to the development of Jamaican music from Ska to Reggae, and would have been played in its original form at Blues dances and parties across the island for many years.
Sadly James Wayne never had any singles issued in the UK, although collector's and fans of his music could hear him on the odd compilation, notably the excellent Realm R&B series which issued four of his Sittin' In With sides across two albums during the early 1960s.