Have one on me, click the record:

1961

BARTENDER * LAUREL AITKEN THE BLUE BEATS * BLUE BEAT 40 * UK

Laurel Aitken in a hiccupping rendition of a drinking song, recorded for the Ken Khouri/Emil Shalit, Starline label, and not Coxsone Dodd's All Stars as stated on the label. Drinking songs were popular with many of the American R&B artists and groups, a theme that was picked up in the early days of Jamaican recording, not least by Laurel Aitken. A decade later the emphasis had shifted from booze to herbs; although, interestingly enough, not always with the same sense of humor.

See also: 

RETURN TO THE PRE SKA PAGE