Thirty-two years after he first heard Boris Gardiner’s version of I Wanna Wake Up With You , it remains one of singer Sadiki’s favourite songs. Last year he took the plunge and put his spin on the ballad first done by American singer Mac Davis.

Sadiki recently released his acoustic rendition, on which he is accompanied by guitarist Mitchum “Khan” Chin, keyboardist Robbie Lyn and Pam Hall providing harmony. He also cut a live version with keyboardist Robbie Lyn, bassist Glen Browne, and guitarist Winston “Bo Pee” Bowen, but decided to promote the unplugged cut first.

“I think acoustic versions can bring a completely different vibe to familiar songs. Anytime an artiste covers a song they’re taking a chance. I Want To Wake Up With You is not just any song, it’s a classic,” he said. “We treated the song with the respect that it deserved.”

Produced by the artiste, the song is on Blue Mountain Acoustic, Sadiki’s fifth album, which is scheduled for release in June. It is his latest unplugged project; he also produced roots singer Ronnie Davis’s Iyahcoustic which came out in 2016.

Like Iyahcoustic, Blue Mountain Acoustic will be released by Skinny Bwoy Records, the independent company Sadiki has operated since 2005.

Though he is familiar with the original, Sadiki (real name Henry Buckley Jnr) was more taken with Gardiner’s I Wanna Wake Up With You, which topped the British national chart for three weeks in 1986. He recalls first hearing the song as he was about to migrate to the United States 32 years ago.

After recording the live version at Mixing Lab studio in Kingston early last year, Sadiki called on Chin for an acoustic take. Chin, a member of Tarrus Riley’s band, played on all the Iyahcoustic songs.

— Howard Campbell