Neighbors in Jamaica during the 1970s, singer Bobby Floyd and music enthusiast Clovis Forde had similar tastes in music, but appreciation for reggae was as far as their bond went.
Recently, they collaborated on ‘Your Love Is Amazing’, a cover of a Four Tops song made popular in Jamaica by Delroy Wilson and Errol Dunkley.
Released in March, it marks Forde’s debut as a producer and continues a comeback for Floyd, who has been a recording artist since the late 1960s.
“If you listen to Delroy and Errol Dunkley, they did it differently. So, I wanted a different rhythm structure and a different drum intro, and I think it came out well,” said Floyd, who started his career with the Soul Syndicate Band.
His take on ‘Your Love Is Amazing’ features saxophonist Dean Fraser and Forde’s son-in-law Anbesa Tafari on violin.
The South Florida-based Forde says he and Floyd have frequent conversations about music. It was from one of those discussions that the idea came to record ‘Your Love Is Amazing’.
“One night, we were talking, and he said he would love to record ‘Your Love Is Amazing’, and he continued by singing a verse of the song, and I immediately told him I would produce the song,” Forde recalled.
Floyd is best known for the 1982 roots-reggae song, ‘Love Without Feeling’, recorded at Channel One in Kingston and produced by Sly and Robbie.
Based in Jamaica, he also appears on two songs from ‘Tribute EP’, by singer Maria Aitken. That six-song project was released in March by Upstairs Music