Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Gem Myers performs with Frankie Campbell, who played on the recording of 'One Man Woman'. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

When Gem Myers performs One Man Woman, invariably she has to stop on the first go round of a certain section and point out a man holding up his hand.

And it is a bit incongruous, as it does say "hol' up yu han' if yu a one man woman, wave yu han' if yu have one man".

It is all in good fun, though, and Myers tells The Sunday Gleaner that when she performs the standard of female fidelity "invariably a man holds up his hand. Invariably a man says 'pull up'.

"And I like that. It tells me the strength of the song."

Song's writer

Interestingly enough, One Man Woman was written by a man, drummer, singer and songwriter Grub Cooper. And it has shown its stamina, since being recorded in the latter part of the 1980s.

It begins with "Every day man a check me..." and, before the chorus, concludes "I cyaan tek de boderation", before Myers soars into "that is why I am a one-man girl...".

When she first heard One Man Woman, though, Myers was not impressed with a song Cooper said was written especially for her and which he presented to her live. "It didn't grab me. I suppose it was so colloquial; it was not in standard English," Myers said.

Still, she did the recording at Tuff Gong, after the music was done at Aquarius, because "I was so much younger then, my career was being guided by these experienced people. I thought 'why not? Maybe they know better than I do'."

She has had absolutely no regrets, as Myers says "Nowadays when I perform it it is very well received. It means a lot to many people and it means a lot to me too, because that is who I am."

And she chuckled when The Sunday Gleaner asked if the first lines of One Man Woman applies as the overall sentiment does.

"Jamaican men a so dem stay... Jamaican men will always try," Gem Myers said.

The musicians who played on One Man Woman were Grub Cooper, Frankie Campbell, Sydney Thorpe, Steve Golding and Junior Bailey.

Excellent reception

Gem Myers - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

The song got excellent reception when it was released, although Myers says "Some radio announcers said 'bwoy, Gem it is not you at all. You are more sophisticated'. But it got a good response.

"The women especially loved it. Still do," she said.

That was reaffirmed a few years ago at the first Foundation Music Showcase, held at Mas Camp in Kingston. Myers said she had been off the local scene for some time and when she did One Man Woman there was a tremendous response. "I thought it had died. It was very good to see it (the reaction)," she said.

And leaving it out of her big concert set is out of the question, even if she tries. "If I leave it out it is requested," Myers said.

Sometimes she also performs One Man Woman in another setting. "Sometimes I do it in the hotel. It is a mainly tourist audience. I have to stop and explain. Once I put it in standard English they usually respond," Myers said.