McKay moved to New York City at the age of 17 to study architecture. In 1969 McKay launched the group "Exuma" with his then-partner and lifelong friend Sally O'Brien. He enlisted several musician friends, forming his backup band, the Junk Band. The band included O'Brien (as Princess Sally), Bogie, Lord Wellington, Villy, Spy Boy Thielheim, Mildred Vaney, Frankie Gearing, Diana Claudia Bunea (as Princess Diana), and his good friend Peppy Castro (Emil Thielhelm, lead singer of the Blues Magoos).
By the 1980s McKay had moved to New Orleans and was a regular at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Over the years the group Exuma played and / or toured with Patti LaBelle, Curtis Mayfield, Rita Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & the Maytals, Sly and the Family Stone, Steppenwolf, Black Flag and the Neville Brothers. Numerous artists performed on his recordings and in his stage shows.
After growing up on Cat Island, Tony McKay moved to New York City at the age of 17 to study architecture. However, he did not complete his studies and soon entered the music industry in a group called Tony McKay and the Islanders. In New York's 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene McKay often found himself performing with such greats as Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, and Barbra Streisand among others.
He soon gained the attention of Blues Magoos manager Bob Wyld. Wyld brought McKay to Mercury Records and convinced them to sign him. In 1970 McKay, now redubbed Exuma, released the albums Exuma and Exuma II. From those albums he released the singles "Exuma, The Obeah Man", "Junkanoo", "Damn Fool", and "Zandoo". Exuma also garnered recognition for his song "You Don't Know What's Going On", which was featured on the soundtrack to John G. Avilsen's 1970 film Joe starring Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon, and Dennis Patrick.
Exuma left Mercury in 1971 to sign with the Kama Sutra label, where he released the albums Do Wah Nanny (1971), Snake (1972), Reincarnation (1972), and Life (1973). From these albums he released the singles "Do Wah Nanny", "The Bowery", "Brown Girl", "Rushing Through the Crowd", and a cover of Paul McCartney's "Monkberry Moon Delight". After low sales and seeking the freedom of independence, Exuma was no longer featured on a major record label for the rest of his career. He released Penny Sausage, Going to Cat Island, Universal Exuma and Street Life in the early 1980s, but none of these albums received much exposure.By this time, Exuma was enjoying his greatest recognition. In the Bahamas, he even scored two hit singles, "Shirlene" and "Rose Mary Smith." He had moved to New Orleans and was a regular at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. He performed regularly at the Old Absinthe Bar. These nights could become jam sessions, as he had a habit of starting songs that were not in the set list and he still attracted great musicians, such as Bill Wyman and Bob Dylan's backing band. In 1986 under the ROIR label, Exuma released Rude Boy, which garnered slightly more attention and featured songs from some of his previous 1980s releases.
Over the years Exuma has played and/or toured with Patti LaBelle, Curtis Mayfield, Rita Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & the Maytals, Sly and the Family Stone, Steppenwolf, Black Flag and the Neville Brothers. Exuma was even recognised by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978 when she awarded him the British Empire Medal for his contributions to Bahamian culture.
In the late 1980s, Exuma suffered a mild heart attack, and thus devoted much more of his time to painting, his other great talent. His paintings have been exhibited several times and collected by many art lovers. Never abandoning his music however, he still wrote and performed his original music. He continued to perform at the New Orleans Jazz Festival until 1991. The last years of his life saw him splitting his time between Miami, Florida and Nassau, in a house that his mother had left him. He died in his sleep in 1997.
Professor and fellow Bahamian Alfred M. Sears stated that Exuma was "A Bahamian visionary, humanistic philosopher and people's poet. Exuma gives expression to the beauty and power of the cultural life of the Bahamas - the people's every day experiences, folklore, myths, stories, junkanoo, rake and scrape, pain, joy, struggle and survival. His life and art reflect the wonderful cultural heritage and personality of Bahamians, drawing on the roots of Africa and the branches of the Amerindians, Europeans and Americans."[2]
Tony McKay had many children including Gavin, Kenyatta, Acklins and Jahleena. His first son, Shaw and his mother, "Sammy" were murdered in the early 1970s in New York's Lower East Side. Both Acklins and Kenyatta Alisha are vocal artists, carrying on the tradition of their father through their individual genres.
Exuma
Exuma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't know what's going on.
You Can't make the world go 'round,
You don't know what's going on.
Here today, tomorrow your gone
And the greenbacks are rolling
You are the king and queen pin
But when the greenbacks turn brown
And you fall down.
Whatcha gonna do, Baby...
Come go with me,
Come take my hand,
I'm going home,
Come go with me.
Come take my hand,
I'm going home.
When the holy cow's milking,
And the greenbacks are rolling,
You are the king and queen pin,
But when the greenbacks turn brown,
And you fall down.
Whatcha gonna do now, Baby...
You can't change the night into day,
And you can't take the milk,
From the milky way.
You can't take the sun from the sky,
And you can't put the light,
In Ray Charles eyes.
When the holy cow's milking,
And the greenbacks are rolling,
You are the king and queen pin,
But when the greenbacks turn brown.
And you fall down...
Whatcha gonna do now, Baby...
Come go with me,
Come take my hand,
I'm going home...
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You don't know, you don't know...
Come go with me,
Come take my hand,
I'm going home...
I'm going home...
I'm going home...
I'm going home...
I'm going home...
I'm going...
Hooomee...
The lyrics to Exuma's song "Exuma" appear to be a warning about the transience and impermanence of power, wealth, and success. The opening lines "You don't know what's going on" is repeated to reinforce how people may seem confident in their power and status, but they are unaware of the changes and instability that can occur quickly. The rest of the lyrics speak to how easily people can rise and fall, represented by the metaphor of the "holy cow" being "milking" and the "greenbacks" rolling in. These symbols are associated with success and wealth. However, as the song progresses, the tone becomes darker, and the lyrics become more frantic as the singer questions what will happen when the "greenbacks turn brown" and they "fall down."
The chorus, "Come go with me, come take my hand, I'm going home," seems to suggest that the only way to escape this cycle of success and failure is to "go home" - but the meaning of this is left intentionally vague. It could refer to returning to a simpler, humbler life, or it could refer to death and the afterlife. Either way, the message is clear: no matter how much power and success you attain, you will eventually lose it all, and the only thing you can do is accept this fact.
Overall, "Exuma" can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about the fleeting nature of success and wealth, and the importance of finding meaning and purpose beyond material possessions and social status.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what's going on,
You lack the knowledge to understand your situation.
You can't make the world go 'round,
You are not powerful enough to control everything around you.
Here today, tomorrow you're gone
Life is fleeting and can end abruptly.
When the holy cow's milking
During times of plenty and prosperity.
And the greenbacks are rolling
When money is flowing freely.
You are the king and queen pin
You are at the top of the hierarchy.
But when the greenbacks turn brown
When the prosperity ends and hard times come.
And you fall down.
When you lose your status or position due to the changing circumstances.
Whatcha gonna do, Baby...
What actions will you take when faced with adversity?
Come go with me,
Follow me towards a better life.
Come take my hand,
Let me help guide you.
I'm going home,
I am finding my way back to stability and contentment.
You can't change the night into day,
You cannot change the natural order of things.
And you can't take the milk,
You cannot take things that are not meant for you.
From the milky way.
There are some things that are simply out of your reach.
You can't take the sun from the sky,
You cannot alter the natural order of things.
And you can't put the light,
You cannot create something out of nothing.
In Ray Charles eyes.
Some abilities and talents are innate and cannot be manufactured.
Come go with me,
Follow me towards a better life.
Come take my hand,
Let me help guide you.
I'm going home...
I am finding my way back to stability and contentment.
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You are still lacking understanding and perspective.
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You are still lacking understanding and perspective.
You don't know, you don't know, you don't know,
You are still lacking understanding and perspective.
Come go with me,
Follow me towards a better life.
Come take my hand,
Let me help guide you.
I'm going home...
I am finding my way back to stability and contentment.
I'm going home...
I am finding my way back to stability and contentment.
I'm going home...
I am finding my way back to stability and contentment.
I'm going...
I am headed towards a better life.
Hooomee...
Towards a place of stability and contentment.
Contributed by Charlotte J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@josecuevas28
00:00 Exuma, The Obeah Man
06:20 The Vision
14:28 You Don't Know What's Going On
17:59 Seance In The Sixth Fret
25:03 Junkanoo
28:27 Mama Loi, Papa Loi
32:58 Dambala
The order is quite weird. According to some records in Discogs it should go: Exuma, The Obeah Man; Dambala; Mama Loi, Papa Loi; Junkanoo; Seance In The Sixth Fret; You Don't Know What's Going On and The Vision.
Anyways, I'm not complaining, just pointing it out if anyone is interested in listening to it in other order. I'm very greatfull for you to submit it to YouTube.
@roseannemunroe8162
dancing at the clubs in Manhattan, wearing a whistle around my neck, blowinf the whistle as danced the African/Cuban dancesteps , the summer of 1972
@Ryan-el5cq
0:00 Perfect song to setup wacky inflatable tubeman and surveillance cameras to get alien footage.
@danikriatura7671
One of the many things I appreciated immensely about Jordan Peele's NOPE was hearing Exuma's "Obeah Man" feature so prominently on the soundtrack. Hopefully he finally receives all the recognition and praise he did not while he was still alive. He has been one of my alltime favourite singer/songwriters for many many many years.
@inaisese6725
I ALMOST CRIED WHEN I HEARD IT
@danikriatura7671
@@inaisese6725 Yup i came damn close to making a whole ass of myself in the movie theater, fully singing along out loud like i was at a concert lol
@HALBY400
I saw Nope on opening day and I flipped out when I heard Exuma. I immediately whisper/shouted "OMG it's Exuma" to my friends bemused faces, and they told me to shut up because they had no idea what I was talking about 😅
@danikriatura7671
@@HALBY400 Yup! i was singing along out loud to every song in the movie and luckily i was with peeps who can fully appreciate my geekery, but they were all having a chuckle, like yea of course you know all this semi-obscure old music lol
@HALBY400
@@danikriatura7671 if we were in the same theater, I would've joined in the singing and confused everyone in the theatre!
@compoflask6262
The album in Exuma's intended order
00:00 Exuma, The Obeah Man
32:58 Dambala
28:27 Mama Loi, Papa Loi
25:03 Junkanoo
17:59 Seance In The Sixth Fret
14:28 You Don't Know What's Going On
06:20 The Vision
@crieverytim
I didn't particularly care for Nope, but i was absolutely delighted when Exuma came on. Was a nice surprise. Glad to see it get recognition - it's about damn time!