I am the magnificent

Yemsky

"I am the magnificent, I'm backed by the shack of a soul boss (boast?) most turnin', stormin', sound o'soul, Double You Oh, Oh, Oh and I'm still up here again."



An office co-worker came to me today and asked me a question I tried to answer for myself more than thirty years ago when I first heard Dave & Ansell Collins Double Barrell: What does the Double You Oh Oh Oh mean? Or is it W O O O? Or is it: Double U 0 0 0?
I remember that as a teenager I had at one point concluded this must be a radio station identification (WOOO, like WBLS).
Later, I realised how much SKA and early Reggae was influenced by movies and decided that it might be referencing a secret agent code like "007". Or is it simply a phonetic play on words: "Double You Oh, Oh, Oh"?

Any ideas?

Going down the google rabbit hole has not been helpful on this occasion....
...but it did throw up this unexpected cover version:

DOR

LOL. I hear it as

"I. Am the magnificent. I'm backed by the shack of a soul boast, most turnin', stormin', sound of soul. I am W O O O and I'm still up in here."

But could easily be Double U


Looking on lyric sites I'm off.

LaserWolf

Radio station call letters.
I am the Magnificent, sounds like a dj sign on.

Horseleech

LaserWolf said:

Radio station call letters.

For a tiny station in Defiance, Ohio since 1965.

Somehow I don't think that's it.

Horseleech

.

Horseleech

The unreleased (til the 90's) Parliament version of Loose Booty has a very similar verse to the intro of this tune. Recorded a year earlier than Double Barrel. I wonder if they were both imitating the same DJ?

LaserWolf

Horseleech said:

LaserWolf said:

Radio station call letters.

For a tiny station in Defiance, Ohio since 1965.

Somehow I don't think that's it.

Horseleech

To clarify, I don't think 'W-O-O-O' are call letters, but it seems too much a coincidence that both Clinton and Dave Barker came up with 'I am the magnificent' etc independently.