Eric Donaldson: Cherry, Oh Baby

It’s got to be relatively frustrating to score a singular hit and subsequently not really be known for too much else.

A shockingly slim portion of the public knows who Devo is. But damn near everyone is familiar with “Whip It.” That track was released pretty close to thirty years ago at this point with the band continuing on for another clutch of albums before heading off into different directions. Member’s longstanding work in various art related avenues notwithstanding, they’ll probably always be the “Whip It” band. That’s how it goes.

JA singer extraordinaire Eric Donaldson suffers from roughly the same problem. No, he didn’t where a red, plastic energy dome while performing his lone hit – “Cherry, Oh Baby” – but the focus on that song has to be as frustrating to the singer as the Devo crew’s consternation at being pigeonholed for its song.

Donaldson, while not really making headlines anywhere outside of his native Jamaica, has turned that single success into a bar simply called Cherry Oh Baby Go-Go Bar. That might sound kind of hackey, but it certainly draws a decent crowd based upon the cult surround the track. It got to the point where the Rolling Stones, which has a long standing tie to JA singers, even covered the track during the latter part of the ‘70s. The momentary appreciation didn’t really carry on for too long even as a few other groups have covered the well known song.

It’s an odd pillar in Donaldson’s life, though. Working in a few different vocal ensembles since the ‘60s, “Cherry, Oh Baby” was his first hit in 1971. Despite the fact that the preceding decade was given over to performance and subsequent time would find Donaldson and his false setto winning a few song writing competitions, it’s his self titled album that defines his career.

Issued on the Jaguar imprint and produced by Bunny Lee, the 1971 album sports as much smooth soul stuff as early reggae offerings. “Please Let Me Love You” finds the crooner getting mellower than during other tracks. His high pitched yowl falters a few times during the supposed highpoints of the song, but with the assembled band behind him, nothing sounds too bad.

The following track, though, might come off as the most impressive out of the ten represented here. “Go Away” features Donaldson still working in that high pitched voice, but it’s not related in strangulated tones here. The fact that the band works out a solid rock steady shuffle behind him can’t hurt too much either.

Overall, the album is a pretty middling affair. Apart from that one hit, there’s not too much work here that’s made it through the culture to see the light of the new millennium. That’s not meant to diminish the tunes turned in here, but seeing as the decade prior to the release of this album was focused on singles and 45s, there’s bound to be more rewarding work from Donaldson in some dusty box somewhere. Go find it and let me know.