SINGER SUZANNE COUCH SEEKS DISTRIBUTOR FOR DESMOND DEKKER TRIBUTE ALBUM!

SINGER Suzanne Couch says she is still trying to find a distributor for Dekker, her tribute album to reggae great Desmond Dekker.

Production on the album was completed five years ago.

“A German company had expressed interest in distribution but things fell through. It’s been frustrating,” Couch told the Jamaica Observer.

Dekker is a 12-song salute to the groundbreaking vocalist who made British charts in the late 1960s with songs like Israelites and (007) Shantytown.

Couch recorded the album in Los Angeles with American punk/ska band, The Aggrolites, and famed Jamaican bass player Phil Chen.

“We did everything to keep things authentic. I thought we did Desmond proud,” said Couch.

She was inspired to do the album after hearing one of Dekker’s songs, Fu Man Chu, at a party.

Fu Man Chu, 007 (Shantytown), Israelites, Intensified, Don’t Blame Me, Honour Your Mother and Rude Boy Train are some of the songs Couch covered.

Dekker made his mark in the ska and rocksteady eras of the 1960s, with songs produced by Leslie Kong. They included 007 (Shantytown) and Israelites.

Those songs earned him an enduring fan base in the United Kingdom, where he lived for nearly 40 years.

He died there in 2006 at age 64.

Couch started her music career 30 years ago as a keyboardist/vocalist with the band Native. She is scheduled to perform an acoustic set at Calabash Restaurant in New Kingston tomorrow.

Suzanne Couch

On May 19, she will perform songs from Dekker with her band at Blue Essence Lounge, King’s Plaza.

— Howard Campbell