BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKKO JAKSZYK + FRIDAY FLASHBACKS
Judy Get Down” Jakko Jaksyzk w/Davy Jones (Monkees)
BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAKKO JAKSZYK + FRIDAY FLASHBACKS: Judy Get Down” Jakko Jaksyzk w/Davy Jones (Monkees)
—The Flashback starts in 2011: I was working on a deep archiving-remix project for Davy Jones (The Monkees) and I tripped across this battered cassette with his
handwritten “Judy Get Down” scribbled on the plastic. I popped the tape in and, despite hiss and distortion, out came this rough take of total ear candy with Davy on blazing vocal harmonies. When I asked him about it, he shrugged and said, “Sometime in the 80s I was in London in a studio. Down the hall was this guy Jacko or Jocko or something. He asked me to sing parts and this is a rough mix they gave me. I lost touch with it after that.” The track turned out to be Jakko Jakszyk’s “Judy Get Down,” a modestly successful single in the UK released in 1986 (since covered by other artists), written by Anthony Moore (Henry Cow).
Jakko was a member of Level 42 and his career has intersected with Porcupine Tree, Dave Stewart (Hatfield & The North), Danny Thompson, and several King Crimson spin-offs—and he’s been lead singer for King Crimson since 2013. Jakko has an amazing and prolific catalogue of Britpop, jazz fusion, funk, progressive rock, and soundtracks. “Judy Get Down” (out of print for years) is one brilliant example of his work, combining a catchy hook with fretless bass, huge drums, funky guitars, and razor sharp production.
Personnel:
Jakko Jakszyk: guitars, keyboards, production, programming, & songwriting
Mystery Guest a.k.a. Davy Jones: harmony vocals
Ted Emmett: trumpet
Gavin Harrison: drums
Anthony Moore: songwriting
Ed Poole: fretless bass
Dave Stewart: keyboards & psychedelia
Meanwhile, happy birthday Jakko…and to Judy Garland, whose birthday falls today!
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