Long before the Bee Gees dreamed of disco music, they were a popular British pop band who released a number of very successful songs on the US and English charts. One of those was Gotta Get A Message To You, a big hit for the band in 1968.
Their version was a somber ballad, telling the story of a condemned prisoner pleading that a message be sent on to his wife as he headed towards execution. And now it’s been recorded by Bobby Osborne for his upcoming Compass Records project, Original. He’s given it a bit of a speed bump, and a less forlorn reading for his arrangement, performed with assistance from Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Alison Brown, Trey Hensley, Rob Ickes, and Claire Lynch.
It makes a fine bluegrass number, as you can see in this music video Compass released yesterday.
I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You is available as a digital single now, though the full album isn’t set for release until June 2.