This is simply amazing! Most know of the recently departed Maya Angelou‘s previous career as a calypso singer but what may didn’t know was that this song later became one of Chuck Brown and the Soul Searcher’s biggest records. soulhead Founder Ron Worthy recalls “When Run Joe came out, all of the young D.C. Go Go fans knew nothing of the previous song, especially since Chuck flipped the lyrics a bit to allude to illegal activities (note: it was the middle of the crack era in Washington, D.C., where Go-Go thrived) with his line “makin a fortune behind the door”. Now, it all makes sense. Chuck was doing a little remixing of his own!” Well done to both of these legends. Shout out to soulhead Kim Worthy for bringing this to our attention!
Enjoy Maya’s version first and then check out Chuck Brown’s version: