Musical Youth was made up of a bunch of young kids from Birmingham, England, with Jamaican heritage. They burst onto the music scene, in spectacular fashion, with the release of “Pass the Dutchie.” It proved to be a big hit. But, the record became controversial for a couple of reasons which I will go into later.
Hopefully, once I have gone into a few more details about the meaning of “Pass The Dutchie” by Musical Youth, it will give you a better understanding of it. I also hope it will give you a better appreciation for this fun and energetic Reggae/Pop song from the 80s. So, let’s get straight to it and take a closer look at what the song “Pass the Dutchie” means.
Chart Success
The song was released in August of 1982 by the British Jamaican band Musical Youth. Originally, the band was comprised of five kids. They were two sets of brothers, the Waites and the Grants, all with Jamaican heritage. Incredibly, all of them were aged between just 11 to 15 years old. However, their ages didn’t stop their debut song from being a huge hit.
So, how successful was it?
“Pass The Dutchie” went to #1 in the UK and several other European countries. It went to #10 in the US, though; unfortunately, it was the only song of theirs that charted there. The record went on to sell over five million globally. Additionally, it earned platinum discs in Canada and New Zealand. Plus, they got gold discs in the UK and the Netherlands.
“Pass The Dutchie” was the lead single from the album, The Youth of Today, which was released following the single’s success. Unfortunately, the album was not as well received as the single. It “only” made it to #24 in the UK and #23 in the US. However, it still earned gold discs in Canada and the UK.
It might be a bit harsh to call Musical Youth a one-hit-wonder…
However, the fact is that they didn’t even get close to the success of “Pass The Dutchie” with any future releases. Plus, their second album, Different Style!, only reached #143 in the US and 90 in Canada. It failed to chart anywhere else, and sales were poor. So, that kind of supports the notion that they were a bit