The Abyssinians versioned to eternity

ILLUSTRATION by LUKE MCGARRY

The Abyssinians were one of those rare bands who nailed down a classic in only a few notes: their “Satta Massagana” starts off as irrepressibly recognizable as “Harlem Shuffle” (bwant, bwah bwah, bwahhhhh) or “Hitch Hike” (bwomp-bwomp-bwomp-bwomp, bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp, bump-bump) (uncomfortable onomatopoeia just to remind you how they go), with a smash melody from the Studio One session guys who listened to the solemn harmonies of the Abyssinian vocal trio (Donald and Linford Manning and Bernard Collins) and curlicued a horn line that would carry the Abyssinians into dub eternity. There were almost 500 confirmed recorded versions of “Satta” as of 2003, a total that obliterates even James Brown’s terminally-sampled “Funky Drummer.” That slinky shuffle rhythm and majestic horn melody (bwan bwan bwan, bwan, bwanuhnuhnuhnuh, so you can recall it more clearly) and mournful first line (“There . . . is a land . . . far, far away . . .”) announced that original 1969 single “Satta Massagana” into reggae permanency. Collins even told one interviewer that even if the little kids in Jamaica today don’t remember the name of his band, they remember the song itself. There was the usual penance for permanency, of course: piracy ate rightful royalties from the band’s own Clinch Records (named after a black-power fist pendant brought back from America); and the Abyssinians spent years acrimonious and split, with the brothers Manning doing their own version and Collins doing his—and that would have smudged up the early discography if the early discography weren’t so pure. Even at his jumpsuitedest, Elvis could always get the gospel songs right—sometimes songs are good enough to forgive all subsequent transgressions, and finally Collins (who was nicknamed ‘Presley’ as a kid, since he loved Elvis so much) and the Mannings reconciled, restoring after 500 versions the lost original.

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