Bob Andy's Song Book is a 1970 album of songs by Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter Bob Andy

Bob Andy

Bob Andy is a Jamaican reggae vocalist and songwriter. He is widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential songwriters.-Career:...

, recorded between 1966 and 1968. Andy had first found fame as the lead vocalist of The Paragons

The Paragons

The Paragons were a rocksteady band from Kingston, Jamaica, active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member, John Holt.-Career:...

, but his peak as a solo artist came in the late '60s when he recorded a string of singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd

Coxsone Dodd

Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...

's Studio One label. In 1970, these singles were compiled on the Song Book album. Many of the songs on the album have since been covered by a range of artists, including Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...

, who covered "Desperate Lover" on his 1974 Mo' Roots album. Vocal harmony on three tracks on the album are performed by Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer

Bunny Wailer, , also known as Bunny Livingston and affectionately as Jah B, is a singer songwriter and percussionist and was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh...

 and Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...

 of The Wailers, and backing comes from Studio One band the Soul Vendors, whose members included Jackie Mittoo

Jackie Mittoo

Jackie Mittoo was a Jamaican keyboardist, songwriter and musical director. He was a founding member of The Skatalites and was a mentor to many younger performers, primarily through his work as musical director for the Studio One record label.-Biography:He was born Donat Roy Mittoo in Browns Town,...

 and Roland Alphonso

Roland Alphonso

Roland Alphonso O.D. or Rolando Alphonso aka The Chief Musician was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of The Skatalites....

. The album was re-issued on CD in 1997, with extended versions of "Desperate Lover" and "Feeling Soul". In the Rough Guides

Rough Guides

Rough Guides Ltd is a travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group...

book Reggae: 100 Essential CDs, the album is described as "a masterpiece that belongs in anyone's CD collection - and not just of reggae music", and it has also been described as "one of the era's classic albums".

Although the songs on the album have generated considerable royalties, Andy was not financially rewarded as Dodd claimed that, as with much of Andy's songwriting work, he had written the songs himself.

Tracklisting

1. My Time
2. Desperate Lover
3. Life Could Be A Symphony
4. Too Experienced
5. I've Got To Go Back Home
6. I Would Be A Fool
7. Going Home
8. Stay In My Lonely Arms
9. Let Them Say
10. Unchained
11. Feeling Soul
12. Crime Don't Pay