Joseph Abraham Gordon (2 October 1934 – 19 April 2016), better known as Lor… Read Full Bio ↴Joseph Abraham Gordon (2 October 1934 – 19 April 2016), better known as Lord Tanamo, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter best known for his mento and ska work.

Born in Kingston and raised in Denham Town in the West of the city, Gordon was influenced by Lord Kitchener, who lived in Jamaica in the 1940s. His interest in music began at an early age when he heard a rumba box being played by local musician Cecil Lawes. He went on to perform locally as a teenager, singing calypsos accompanied by Lawes, and began performing in hotels in the early 1950s.

He first recorded for Kingston businessman and sound system operator Stanley Motta, and later recorded with a backing band that included Theophilus Beckford and Ernest Ranglin. His early hits included "Blues Have Got Me Down" (1960) for producer Emil Shallit.

He switched to ska in the early 1960s, and was a founding member of the Skatalites, singing with the band on tracks such as "Come Down" and "I'm In The Mood For Ska". He recorded for Clement Dodd, Duke Reid, and Lindon Pottinger in the 1960s, and had hits with adapted folk songs such as "Iron Bar" and "Matty Rag", and had further hits with songs such as "Ol' Fowl". In 1965 he won the Festival Song Contest with "Come Down". In 1970, he recorded a reggae cover of Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night in Georgia", which was a number one hit in Jamaica for seven weeks. He was based in Canada from the mid-1970s, where he married a local woman and opened the Record Nook shop, selling Jamaican-produced records, although he returned to Jamaica to record. During one of these trips back he recorded the 1979 album Calypso Reggae, for Bunny Lee.

In 1990, his ska cover of "I'm in the Mood for Love", gave him his only UK hit, reaching no. 58 in the UK Singles Chart after being featured in a television advert for Paxo in 1989.

In 2002, Tanamo performed as part of the 'Legends of Ska' concerts in Toronto, the performances recorded and released as a film in 2014. Tanamo continued to perform with the Skatalites into the 21st century, including a set at the 2003 Glastonbury Festival.

In January 2008 it was stated in a Jamaican newspaper that Tanamo was in a nursing home in Canada after suffering a stroke that had left him unable to speak.

He died in Toronto on 19 April 2016.

If You Were Mine
Lord Tanamo Lyrics

We have lyrics for 'If You Were Mine' by these artists:

A.J. Brown If you were the only girl in the world And I…
Abisha All in black, head to toe When I saw you there…
Alex K Here we go If you were mine [16x] If you were mine,…
Alex-K If I could only be the queen of popularity Things would…
Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Anouk I lay my weapon down won't fight no more. Try to…
Bed & Breakfast If you were mine, everytime You could be the one to…
Ben E. King & The Drifters I saw you standing For the very first time Can't believe my…
Bertine Zetlitz I will wake up every night Just in case and for…

Billie Holiday Johnny Mercer / Matty Malneck If you were mine I could be…
Billie Holiday & Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Billie Holiday (With Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra) If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Billie Holiday feat. Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Billie Holiday Teddy Wilson & Teddy Wilson Orchestra If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Billie Holiday Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Bitch Alert If you were mine I'd promise I'd be nice I'd never be…
Blessid Union Of Souls You're everything I dream about You're everything I talk abo…
Boyzone I see waht he's doin to you And it hurts me…
brandonhult. Stuck in bliss theres no one best to hold This black…
Bruce harris If you were mine I could be the ruler of kings And…
Brymo So many times I ask myself the question why Why e…
Buck Clayton If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Cherry Suede Well you must be tired of the same old guys The…
Cheryl Lynn If this world were mine, I'd place at your feet All…
Cyndi Thomson If you were mine I would celebrate like everyday was…
Danny G & the Major 7ths I wonder what's the attraction, is it better than being…
Dawn Lambeth If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Eddie and the Tide Oh you were mine Do you remember walking by my side You…
Elton John & Chris Rea If you were me And I was you If you had to…
Erika Lewis Well you're on my mind nearly more than half the…
Etta Jones If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Fernando Ortega When my heart is troubled and I am weighed down Then…
Frankie Laine If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Frankie Laine & Buck Clayton If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Frankie Laine & Buck Clayton and His Orchestra If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Frankie Laine Buck Clayton If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Frankie Laine [feat. Buck Clayton] If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
George Howard Oh cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore You're the…
George Jones Well I saw you today and I thought for a…
George Shearing If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Jaime Woods If we could go back And change the time I'd make it…
James F. Harrison I saw someone again today who remembered me and you They…
Jessica Simpson Impatient, waiting by the phone When we going to start to…
Jim Reeves Count the raindrops in a rainstorm count the leaves upon…
Joe If you were a bluebird, you'd be a sad one I'd…
Joe Dolman If you were mine I could stop living a lie And all…
John Michael If you were my woman And I was your man There'd be…
Johnny Hodges If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Kayne If you were mine I'd give you all my time I…
Kitty White If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Level 42 I been waiting here for so long Counting all the holes…
Linnzi Zaorski If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Lo-Wu It's 12:02 a.m., another day is gone again Will the sun…
Lorenzo D'Lan IF YOU WERE MINE (1st VERSE) There was a time I thought…
M.P.D. Limited Saw you standing in the rain, you were waiting in…
Marcos Hernandez If you were mine I'd be your everything And you'd be…
Mario Lanza & Constantine Callinicos If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Marvin Gaye If this world were mine, I'd place at your feet All…
Mick Davis & Thin Love I took a walk On down your darkened street Heard lots of…
Midnight Pool Party IF YOU WERE MINE, I wouldn't waste no time I'd never…
Minova I thought about what you said When we were alone All the…
Miranda Lambert You're a needle in a haystack You're so damn hard to…
Miss Platnum ? Welcome to sleep If you were mine I'll give you The sw…
Mýa if you were mine i'd treat you right i would be…
Mya If you were mine I'd treat you right I would be…
Nipsey Hussle feat. James Fauntleroy (If you were mine) (If you were mine) (The way that I…
Nova One You and I we were naked in the summer time Showing…
Ocean Park Standoff If you were mine (ooh) If you were mine (ooh) Left to…
Ray Charles If you were mine I'd never let you leave me If you…
REALXTY We got off on the wrong foot, yeah you can…
Royal Jester I wonder what I should say To break down your wall When…
Smithfield If you were a cane pole I'd take you to the…
Squirrel Nut Zippers If you were mine Id be a ruler of kings And if…
Taylor Dayne I see you out in places Almost every night, my…
Teddy Wilson If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra Feat. Billie Holiday If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra With Billie Holliday If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra;Billie Holiday If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra If I were you Here's what I'd do I'd give my heart…
Teddy Wilson and his orchestra with Billie Holiday If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
TEEKS Sometimes I wonder Do you feel the same? Does your body take…
The U-Krew Does your family have any history Of addiction or succumbing…
The Well Pennies If you were mine How sweet, how lovely I'd tremble inside Kn…
Tony Bennett If you were mine I could be a ruler of kings And…
Various Artists [Spoken:] Come in Well, well, well, look who's here I haven'…

We have lyrics for these tracks by Lord Tanamo:

A Mother's Love A mother′s love you never forget Wrong things you do you're…
China Man From Montego Bay ... Bom bom A Chiney Man from Montego Bay Came down to…
Come Down Come down off of your pomps and pride, and leave the next…
Got To Have You Baby you you are my one desire you set my soul on fire i…
I'm in the Modd for Ska I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…
I´m in the modd for Ska I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Fu…
I’m in the Mood for Love I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…
Keep on Moving You keep on moving in and out girl You keep on…
Mother's Choice If your mother and your wife were drowning I want to…
My Sweet Jamaica When I left my sweet Jamaica For did I remember Tanamo left…
Rainy Night In Georgia Hoverin' by my suitcase Tryin' to find a warm place to…
Shame And Scandal Woe is me, shame and scandal in the family Woe is…

The Mood I'm In I'm in the mood for love Simply because you're near me. Funn…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

TRACKS