Words by DJ Autograph

The year was 1991. A pre-pubescent DJ Autograph, thinking it would be fun, convinced his mom to let him participate in Jamaica Junior Carnival. All my friends were doing it so, naturally, at that age I didn’t want to be left out. Come road march day I was decked out in bicycle shorts, headdress—all the trimmings. I was never really into soca or calypso music but I had to become familiar with the hits of the year, especially since I’d be marching to them (and dancing to them with females, I hoped). While I only remember a couple songs from that year, among the most notable was “Dollar Wine” by Colin Lucas, a song that is still among the best-known and widely-played soca songs two decades later. The tune is itself a dance tutorial, as Trinidadian singer Lucas instructs the listener to “put a cent piece in yuh left pocket, five cent in yuh right, 10 cent in yuh back pocket…under yuh belt stick a dollar.” Watching the video below of Lucas performing “Dollar Wine” live (particularly the women’s reaction) one may see why a pre-pubescent boy would remember this song. The suggestive nature of the song coupled with the dance made the “Dollar Wine” Colin’s biggest hit.