1988 Reggae No. 1, Originally Recorded By Neil Diamond, Topped The Charts 38 Years Ago Today

Sometimes, it takes a cover version for a song to find its audience. New voices, arrangements, and styles can uncork the original, releasing its fine aromas and bouquet. Perhaps that's why UB40's pop reggae cover of "Red Red Wine" danced to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of October 15, 1988. Written by Neil Diamond and included on his second album, the song has a true hitmaker's DNA. But it took an infectious reggae interpretation and gorgeous vocal harmonies for it to dethrone Def Leppard's "Love Bites" at the top of the charts. 

On paper, the pairing is strange. Named after the form to apply for the dole in England, UB40, hailing from Birmingham, were working class, multi-racial, and politically outspoken. Not a natural choice to reinvent a song by the man behind "Sweet Caroline," but the results speak for themselves. In fact, covers that may even be better than the original versions were something UB40 did well; their other Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper was a sparkling take on Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love." 

Nobody could predict that Diamond's "Red Red Wine," which hit No. 62 on the Hot 100 when it came out, would become pop reggae gold decades later. And even UB40's version had to age in the proverbial cellar before becoming the fine vintage we still sing along to today.

UB40's early hits didn't find large American audiences, despite making a major impact in England. Their debut double-sided single, the sax-driven dub jams "King" and "Food For Thought," reached No. 4 on the UK Singles charts in the summer of 1980, sparking an impressive run. But on their fifth album, 1983's "Labour of Love," the band shifted direction, moving from politically charged originals to reggae covers of classic songs. While that formula catapulted "Red Red Wine" to the top of the UK Singles charts in 1983, the initial response in the US was muted, as it reached only No. 34 in the Hot 100 in 1984. 

It took an intrepid radio program director, Guy Zapoleon of Phoenix, Arizona's KZZP FM, to recognize "Red Red Wine" for the hit it would become. "If the current music wasn't up to snuff," he recalled in "The Billboard Book of Number One Hits," " ... I would dig into a pile of songs I think should have been a hit." And when listeners kept calling in and requesting the song, his suspicions were confirmed, and he pushed UB40's label to re-release it. Good idea.

The song's path to the top of the charts was twisted and winding. Yet now, every time it comes on, it takes Gen Xers back to their first high school party: their first heartbreak and, perhaps, their first glass of wine.

Off Neil Diamond's second album, 1967's "Just For You," the original version of "Red Red Wine" exemplifies the singer songwriter's evolving style and lyrical genius. Taking up the voice of a man hoping to drown thoughts of his ex in alcohol, it has a dreamy, shimmery quality: pop perfection. And the way that he sighs through the final line of the chorus, "My blue, blue heart," is downright devastating.

But it turns out UB40 was covering a cover of "Red Red Wine." "We'd never heard of the Neil Diamond version," lead guitarist Robin Campbell admitted in "The Billboard Book of Number One Hits." "We had no idea Neil Diamond had anything to do with it." What they did know was the dub reggae version by Jamaican artist Tony Tribe, which hit No. 46 on the UK Singles charts in the summer of 1969. Set against an upbeat, ska groove, his track is faster and more frenetic; it still wants you to cry, but you need to get on your feet to do it. Just don't spill your glass.

Formed in 1978, UB40 came up in the second wave or "two-tone" ska scene, emerging on the heels of reggae-indebted bands like The Specials and Madness. Even as their sound became more polished and pop-oriented — even as they took on an old Diamond tune — the band always remained connected to their roots.