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.
You Don't Know What's Going On
Exuma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't make the world go 'round
Here today, tomorrow your gone
You don't know what's going on
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, watcha gonna do
Come go with me
Come take my hand
I'm going home
Come go with me
You can't change the night into day
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 eye
The song "You Don't Know What's Going On" by Exuma is a poignant commentary on the fleeting nature of power and wealth. The lyrics suggest that even those who seem to be on top of the world, the "king and queen pin," are ultimately subject to the vicissitudes of fortune. The line "Can't make the world go 'round" implies that no one person or group of people can truly control the direction or movement of the world. The repetition of the titular line "You don't know what's going on" emphasizes this sense of uncertainty and instability.
The second stanza adds a layer of social commentary, using the metaphor of a holy cow to represent the system of wealth and power. When the "greenbacks are rolling," those in charge feel invincible, but when the "greenbacks turn brown" and the system begins to falter, they are suddenly vulnerable. The line "Come go with me / Come take my hand / I'm going home" can be interpreted as a call to reject the false promises of material success and instead seek refuge in the comfort of home and community.
The final stanza emphasizes the limitations of human power and the immutable nature of the universe. No matter how much wealth or influence one may have, there are certain things that cannot be changed or controlled. The imagery of the milk, sun, and Ray Charles' blindness evokes a sense of cosmic stability and inevitability.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what's going on
You are unaware of the situation or circumstances
Can't make the world go 'round
You cannot control everything or everyone
Here today, tomorrow your gone
Life is unpredictable and things can change quickly
When the holy cow's milking
When everything is going well and money is flowing
And the greenbacks are rolling
And money is plentiful
You are the king and queen pin
You feel powerful and in control
But when the greenbacks turn brown
But when money becomes scarce or worthless
And you fall down
And you lose everything
Whatcha gonna do, watcha gonna do
What actions will you take or decisions will you make?
Come go with me
Join me on a journey or adventure
Come take my hand
Let me guide and support you
I'm going home
I am returning to my place of comfort and safety
You can't change the night into day
You cannot transform a negative situation into a positive one
You can't take the milk from the milky way
You cannot take what is not yours or impossible to obtain
You can't take the sun from the sky
You cannot control the natural world
And you can't put the light in Ray Charles eye
You cannot cure blindness or change someone's innate qualities
Contributed by Ellie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms
Exuma is based. Havent listened to this in ages.
@johnhardesty3167
Whomever downloaded this rare album, I salute you, I love this forgotten song.
@savannahsav91824
an all time favorite 💖
@thomaswalker1513
This song was featured in a film called JOE, starring Peter Boyle and Susan Sarandon. This was her first film. She went with her husband Chris Sarandon to his audition(the drug dealer role). He didn't get the part, but they liked her. She was cast as the dealer's girlfriend. Surprised this nugget was here because I only hear it when I watch this extraordinary period film basically NYC after Woodstock. Really unpredictable movie which I love. I saw this movie one night before I was cast as an extra for a film called In the Line of Duty Street Wars, starring Maro Van Peebles, Peter Boyle and Ray Sharkey. I had no clue Peter Boyle would be on the set. And the night before I'd seen him on JOE. I even told him. But he was busy with Ray Sharkey. They knew each other from a remake of Baby Doll. Ray Sharkey died of HIV not long after. I believe Ray revealed this to Boyle. He gave me a look I'll never forget.
@evansgate
Peter Boyle gave you the look?
@g-girl9867
@@evansgate yeah, please continue your story.... watching Joe again tonite. Remarkable film with an amazing cast. And this song. So easy to locate within the web! Gracias
@kakonis
Thank you for this story. I just saw "Joe" tonight. Boyle's performance is brilliant, the way he made that character both pitiable and somehow sympathetic. I know he refused to do anything involving violence for years, because he thought some people took "Joe" the wrong way. He turned down "The French Connection," because the Popeye Doyle character seemed like such a hardcore reactionary. The funny thing was that Gene Hackman felt the same way, and despised Doyle when he had to interact with him to prepare for his role. Eventually I guess Boyle must have softened his view of "Joe" because he was slated to make a sequel. Alas, it never came off.
@thomaswalker1513
@@kakonis You're right BECAUSE when I mentioned I just saw JOE last night the look I received falls in line with he didn't know was I giving him a thumbs up or down. He was too involved with whatever Ray Sharkey was telling him to respond. I think it's a great post WOODSTOCK period drama and the way it unfolds is so unexpected which is a BIG reason I love this flick. Unpredictable and a real treat for those that haven't seen it.
@marcuspray7631
I'm going to have to check this out. Most recently, Exuma The Obeah Man was featured in Jordan Peele's film "Nope" which led me to revisiting this wonderful album.
@vanessas3385
I got sent here from the Missing Witches podcast. Their prescription for the day was to listen to this song in the dark in a hot bath. 🖤