The Wedding – Jody Wayne

The Wedding – Jody Wayne

‘The Wedding’ started life in 1958 as a Spanish song written by Chilean songwriter Joaquin Preito. His version was called ‘La Novia’ which translates as ‘The Bride’ and it was originally recorded by Prieto’s brother Antonio. Some time later a guy called Fred Jay did some translating and produced the English lyrics. Jay would have success writing songs such as Percy Sledge’s hit ‘What Am I Living For’ as well as co-writing a number of Boney M’s hits.

The English translation of ‘La Novia’ was a big hit in 1964/65 for Julie Rodgers as it went to 3 in the UK, 10 in the US and topped the Australian charts. Jody Wayne released his version in 1970 and it would spend 3 weeks at the top of the Springbok Top 20. The song has a slow circular beat with an organ giving it a ‘churchie’ sound. To this Wayne brings a strong, bordering on operatic, vocal and is able backed by an angelic choir.

Rodgers’ 1964 version is slightly faster and builds to a dramatic orchestral number which seems to capture the joy and excitement of a wedding. Hers is a catherdral wedding version. Wayne on the other hand looks at the more solemn side of the ceremony as he slows things down and the lack of a big orchestra, replaced by a small church organ sound makes his a more intimate affair. And while people can dream of big weddings in cathedrals, the reality for most people is a ceremony at their local church and perhaps it was this kind of spiritual feel that Jody tapped into that caused the song to have been snapped up by brides and brides-to-be (and possibly some grooms and grooms-to-be) as a song by which to remember that special day.

Where to find it:
Various Artists – The Best of SA Pop Volume 1 (1994) GMP, CDGMPD 40485 (CD)

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Little Jimmy – Gwynneth Ashley-Robin

Little Jimmy – Gwynneth Ashley-Robin

Hands up who remembers ‘Long Haired Lover From Liverpool’, the song by Little Jimmy Osmond. Well, that was a hit on the Springbok Charts in 1973 and it got to number 7. Jimmy would be the youngest person to make the SA charts and the little Osmond kid seemed to have had a real affect on older women as he was 10 when he had his hit and at that point Gwynneth Ashley-Robin would have been 12½.

A year after Little Jimmy’s success, he was back in the charts, not as an act but rather as the subject of a song by Gwynneth who, at the time would be the second youngest person to chart (she was later overtaken for second place by Lena Zavaroni who had a hit with ‘Ma! He’s Making Eyes At Me). At just 13 years old, Gwynneth would be the youngest local act to make our charts and she did so with the aid of a well know act in the 70’s, Jody Wayne.

Jody would write and produce the track which is a cute little sing-a-long song. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the track is that Gwynneth’s vocals do not sound like a little girl singing. It is a surprisingly mature delivery that is somewhat akin to the Motown soul acts of the 70’s like the Supremes or the Ronnettes. And the lyrics are also similar to that era of songs. It could easily sit alongside the likes of ‘De Doo Ron Ron’, ‘Be My Baby’ and ‘Baby Love’.

Gwynneth (who’s real surname was Joubert) would have a second hit in the form of ‘Little Soldier Blue’, but sady would die in a light aircraft crash at the tender age of 15. Given the voice on that kid, we can only sit back and wonder what could have been. Instead we can occasionally put on ‘Little Jimmy’ (add it to your guilty pleasures list) and marvel at a voice ahead of its years.

Where to find it:
Various Artists – The Best of SA Pop Volume 1 (1994) GMP, CDGMPD 40485 (CD)

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The Wonder Of Your Love – Jody Wayne

The Wonder Of Your Love – Jody Wayne

Jody Wayne topped the Sprinbok Top 20 with ‘The Wedding’ in 1970. After that his fortunes took a turn for the worse in terms of chart success as his next 3 hits, ‘A Time For Us’, ‘Everything Is Beautiful’ and ‘Louanne’ peaked at 12, 20 and 19 respectively. However, with ‘The Wonder Of You’ he once more climbed into the top 5 on our charts as the song peaked at number 4. It was his 8^th song to make the charts and at that point he was tied second with Four Jacks & A Jill for number of hits on the chart by a local act, only being beaten by Billy Forrest’s 9.

Listening to ‘The Wonder Of You’ one can see why he regained the lost ground. It is a fine example of a 70’s country-pop ballad. It’s emotional, has a strong country guitar, a laid back rhythm and Jody’s sweet vocals which are interchanged with emotionally charged spoken bits. The slow beat of the song was perfect for any slow dance in its day and I’m sure many a couple have fond memories of this hit.

Yes, like a number of songs on this list, ‘The Wonder Of Love’ was of its time and does sound a little dated now, but it was a big hit in its time. It would be Wayne’s last top 5 hit, although ‘A Picture Of Patches’ and his duet with Four Jacks & A Jill’s Glenys Lynne, ‘Cookie’, would manage to get to 6 and 7 respectively. Jody was one of the top local acts of the 70’s scoring 7 hits during that decade. So, listen to one of his bigger hits of that time and enjoy the wonder of Jody.

Where to find it:
Various Artists – The Best of SA Pop Volume 3 (1994) GSP, CDREDD 610

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