“Come Back My Darling” by Girl Satchmo

Throughout the 1940’s and 50’s, Jamaica was able to pick up New Orleans radio over the Gulf of Mexico and Louis Armstrong was a regularly featured musician. He visited Jamaica on several different occasions and his influence spread throughout the island. One unlikely woman who mimicked his singing style was former fish vendor Kendris Fagan.

“Come Back My Darling” was a rework of “All My Life” by John Holt. It was recorded in 1969 and released on the legendary Treasure Isle label. Tommy McCook and the Supersonics backed him and they perform brilliantly.
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I adore this track and Fagan’s uncanny reimagining of Armstrong’s persona. It’s a lighthearted love song that puts a smile on my face, and if you listen closely between Fagan’s phrasing, you can hear John Holt’s previous vocal take bleeding over the musician’s microphones.