Reach Out I'll Be There

Derrick Harriott recorded this 1967 rocksteady cover in Kingston, Jamaica, with Bobby Ellis and the Crystalites. It was issued on Harriott's Crystal label as a version of the Four Tops hit "Reach Out I'll Be There." At release, the track showed how Jamaican producers were reworking Motown material into rocksteady. Its appeal rested on Harriott's soulful delivery and the stripped, dancefloor-friendly arrangement that made the song a local favorite. The recording has remained a sought-after rocksteady 45 and has been reissued on Dub Store Records and compiled on later reggae anthologies. It continues to circulate as one of Derrick Harriott's best-known interpretations of a classic soul song.