by Howard Campbell
[NEW YORK] – One of countless songs from the Dennis Brown hit parade, Should I is a bonafide classic that was a staple of the Crown Prince of Reggae’s live show.
Singer Dona-V, an avowed fan of the reggae legend, covered the song for a “personal album” five years ago. After dogged encouragement from his friends, he finally released it in May.
“I think that Should I is one of Jamaica’s national anthems; it’s one of the most popular songs out of Jamaica. If you don’t know Should I, whether you are old or young, you are not from the Caribbean,” he said.
His version of the 1978 song is produced by Scott Yahney and distributed by VPAL Music. It is the follow-up to My Brethren, Dona-V’s cover of Brown’s Make it Easy on Yourself.
The New York-based Dona-V is from Manchester parish in Jamaica. He has been recording music for over 30 years; Brown, who died at age 42 in 1999, is his biggest influence.
He first heard Should I in 1984 shortly after leaving high school. The original was produced by Joe Gibbs with whom Brown had a fruitful partnership during the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
Should I is from Words of Wisdom, an album recognized among the prolific Brown’s best works.
Dona-V cut 15 ‘D Brown’ covers for his album that was never officially released. It contains versions of No Man is an Island and Things in Life which were originally done in the early 1970s.
