The Paragons

Formation

The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston. The first members were Garth "Tyrone" Evans, Bob Andy, Junior Menz and Leroy Stamp. In 1964 John Holt replaced Stamp and Howard Barrett replaced Menz, creating the classic line-up.

Treasure Isle

From 1964 the group recorded for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. Their close three part harmony over Tommy McCook and The Supersonics' backing produced "Memories by the Score", "On the Beach", "Only a Smile", "Happy Go Lucky Girl", "Wear You to the Ball" and "Man Next Door" (1968).

The Tide Is High

"The Tide Is High" (1967) was written by John Holt and features violin by "White Rum" Raymond. Blondie's 1980 cover reached No. 1 in both the UK and the US, and Atomic Kitten's version topped the UK Singles Chart in 2002.

Versions and deejays

Paragons rhythms were reused heavily at Treasure Isle. U-Roy toasted over "Wear You to the Ball" in 1970, one of the records that established deejay music, and "Man Next Door" has been covered by artists including Dennis Brown and Massive Attack with Horace Andy. In the UK, singles such as "Happy Go Lucky Girl" were issued on the Doctor Bird label.

Later years

John Holt left for a solo career in 1970. The group later recorded with vocalist Roslyn Sweat, and the classic line-up reformed in the late 1970s, releasing albums into the early 1980s. Bob Andy, who had left in the 1960s, became a songwriter and solo singer at Studio One. Tyrone Evans died in 2000, John Holt in October 2014 and Bob Andy in 2020.