Respect to the Lady in My Life

Today is my second wedding anniversary, so today, my lovely wife of two years picks a tune for you all. It’s her favorite Skatalites tune, “The Vow”. Fitting for an occasion like today, as the tune expounds on the promise and virtues of loving one person for the rest of your life. The very idea that I am married to a woman who hears the lyrics to this song, and thinks of me, is in itself amazing.

Here’s a song review from All Music:

Two of the The Skatalites’s singers pledge their troths to each other, while the band offer their congratulations on this celebratory single from 1965. The backing has an almost oom-pah Oktoberfest feel, as the entire group join in to emphasize the coursing rhythm, while overhead Johnny “Dizzy” Moore blows bubbles of trumpet notes into the air. His muted tones add to the joyful mood, while Roland Alphonso’s warm solo reminds one of the seriousness of the ceremony. Both Jackie Opel and Doreen Schaeffer give excellent performances within, he ever more passionately asking her to declare her eternal love, she warm and loving in response, and together when they launch into their duet finale, the romance kindles into fiery romance. – Jo-Ann Green, All Music.com

The Skatalites – The Vow” – featuring Jackie Opel and Doreen Shaffer – 1965

Buy Foundation Ska, a great Skatalites compilation, on Amazon.