OLDIES SUNDAY (Christmas): The MerryMen – Drink A Rum (1974)

It’s December, and that means it’s Christmas time! No matter what has been happening in the year, we all look forward to this holiday season. With the holidays come time off for the schoolers, and for the older crowd it’s party time in every way, or an extra payday. For today’s Oldies Sunday selection, we head over to Barbados, who just celebrated their Independence Day, to check out The Merrymen’s version of, “Drink A Rum“.

Produced by The Merrymen for Merry Disc and released in 1974, “Drink A Rum” is a cover version of Trini Calypso legend Lord Kitchener’s 1959 track of the same name. The Merrymen group, which is consisted of 5 members, all performed the track, blending harmonies and instruments for a song that celebrated the drinking part of the holiday season. Rum in various forms are consumed, and they are sure to bring the joy, warmth into the chilly time, and “kick” into the joyous occasions. While the original “Drink A Rum” was a popular Calypso song, their version did well in Barbados, throughout the Caribbean, and other parts of the world, and became a song that enjoyed radio airplay around the Christmas season. The track was released on their 1988 Christmas album, “Caribbean Christmas Party“. The group have been enjoying a considerable amount of fame, and they performed the song on the road.