Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Nat King Cole. - file

Perfidia, the musical tale of love betrayed written by Mexican Alberto Dominguez to which Milton Leeds added English lyrics, has been done by many standout performers, among them Glenn Miller, Ben E. King, Nat King Cole, Phyllis Dillon and Pam Hall.

The last two are, of course, Jamaicans, the late Dillon hitting with Perfidia for producer Arthur Duke Reid on the Treasure Isle imprint, and Hall having her turn in the early 1980s with producer Blackbeard.

Doing Perfidia actually went back one of Halls early (but not her earliest) musical memories. From I was a little girl I always heard an instrumental version of it which I always loved, Hall told The Sunday Gleaner.

formative years

It is a deep memory from my formative years, four or five years old. Somebody had this album and they played it in the house.

However, she did not know the words until she heard Phyllis Dillons version.

Although Perfidia was done over twice by Jamaican female performers, Hall points out it was not overdone, as there was good enough space between when the versions were recorded. And although she knew the song was good, she did not expect it to blow up like that, having a brief run at the top of the charts in Jamaica and remaining a perennial favourite of party and concert audiences.

Hall says that sometimes when a performer is in the studio there are people who hype songs, proclaiming hits on the spur of the moment. There were no such predictions when Pam Hall recorded Perfidia, though, because there werent many people around. I did not like a full studio, so there was no hype, Hall said. In addition, there were no musicians, as the beat had been laid before.

That was a departure from standard procedure for Hall, as normally I would have a say, but Blackbeard had already done the rhythm”. Musicians who played on the song were Sly (drums), Lloyd Parkes (bass), Winston Wright (keyboard), Dean Fraser (horns), Willie Lindo (lead guitar), Bo Pee (guitar), Robbie Lyn (piano) and Minimum Wages (percussion).

Hall says that as for live performances, “I know usually when I performed it people would sing along. It was very popular.” She includes Perfidia in her song list “now and then” these days, one of the almost ‘now’ being the upcoming ‘Stars R Us’ at Mas Camp, Oxford Road, New Kingston, on November 8.

Hall says that Perfidia is not difficult to sing, although there was one night when it led to a spontaneous vocal technique invention. “I remember one night I was performing it and I had problems with my breathing. I devised a strategy for holding out my notes,” Hall said.

Pam Hall - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer