The Barefoot Man
The Barefoot Man, born George Nowak, is an entertainer and songwriter who performs primarily in the Cayman Islands, specifically on the largest island of Grand Cayman. He has composed about 2,000 songs and has recorded nearly 500 of them. The Barefoot Man and his Band performed for many years at the Holiday Inn on the Seven Mile Beach of Grand Cayman. This hotel, however, no longer exists. He now performs primarily at the Reef Resort and at The Wharf in Grand Cayman. The Barefoot Man has been commonly compared to other island performers and songwriters like Jimmy Buffett.[1]
The Barefoot Man | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | George Nowak |
| Also known as | The Barefoot Man |
| Origin | German |
| Genres | Pop Beach Rock Soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1970s-present |
| Labels | Barefoot Records |
| Associated acts | The Barefoot Man and Band |
| Website | Official Barefoot Man Website |
| Past members | Henry Leslie, Mark McTaggard, Harry Johnson, Philip "Smiley" Bodden |
Barefoot's songs are predominately risqué parody, pun and double entendre put to reggae, calypso and sometimes country or pop beats.[2]
The Barefoot Man and Band was featured in the 1993 film, The Firm, starring actors Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. For this film, George Nowak wrote the song "Money, Money, Money" which appears on the film's soundtrack. The song was performed and recorded by the band that he performed with at the Holiday Inn on Grand Cayman.[1]
He currently lives in the village of Breakers on the island of Grand Cayman and still performs for tourists several nights per week (when he's not off on some remote island fishing). He is also a contributing writer for several island publications.
Early years
Nowak was the son of a German merchant seaman who abandoned ship when George was very young. George's mother remarried, this time to an American serviceman and they moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where he attended high school. He graduated in 1968 and immediately moved to Nashville to "...write a country hit...to buy (his) own Island."[3]
Nowak details events from his life, including his early years in the book Which way to the Islands? – a collection of short stories and photos. In this book George reveals that during the Vietnam War (circa 1968), he went by the alias Barefoot Man while living "off the radar" in a club trading work for room and board since he could not procure a work permit with this name.[4]
Barefoot Man Albums (Released as Records and / or Cassette Tapes)
| Album Name | Year Released | Serial No. |
|---|---|---|
| The Galleon Beach Hotel Proudly Presents the Barefoot Man | 1971 | BM-001 |
| Calypso Story – Live at the Galleon | 1973 | BR-T57380 |
| The Galleon's Barefoot Man Sings for You: Songs from the Cayman Islands | 1973? | BM-003 |
| Barefoot and Company | 1975 | BA-1024 |
| Cayman Memories | 1977 | BR-1005 |
| Happy Days in the Cayman Islands | 1978 | BR-1006 |
| Come Scuba Do With Me | 1978 | BR-1007 |
| Barefoot and Andy | 1979? | BR-5704 |
| Dirty Foot | 1979 | BR-5787 |
| Cayman Holiday | 1980 | GN-5884 |
| A Decade on an Island | 1981 | BR-1008 |
| Scuba Do II | 1981 | BF-5939 |
| Typical Tropical | 1982? | BF-6137 |
| Barefoot's Island Favorites | 1983? | C-1827 |
| Tropical Beachcomber | 1983 | BFM-1212 |
| Island Party! | 1984 | ??? |
| Barefoot's Best | 1985/86? | BR-1014 |
| Strictly Calypso | 1987? | C-1940 |
| Like the Reggae Beat | 1988? | C-2036 |
| Caribbean Favorites Vol. II | 1989? | C-2220 |
| Best of Calypso | 1989? | C-2759 |
| Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot | 1990? | C-2865 |
| Scuba Do III | 1990? | C-3038 |
| Back to the Islands | 1990 | C-4287 |
| Calypso Collection | 1991 | C-4927 |
| Strictly Calypso REISSUE | 1992? | C-5622 |
| Christmas on an Island | 1993? | C-5807 |
| Rum and Calypso | 1992 | ??? |
| Rum & Coconut Water | 1994 | ??? |
| Island Life | 1994? | C-7054 |
| Island Fever | 1995 | C-7933/C-8007 |
| You Jamaican Me Crazy | 1996 | C-8768 |
| Margarita Daze | 1998 | C-9469 |
Barefoot Man Albums (Released Primarily as CDs)
| Album Name | Year Released |
|---|---|
| Calypso Gold – Best of the Best, Volume 1 | 1996? |
| Hot Hot Hot Collection – Best of the Best, Volume 2 | 1997 |
| Under The Coconut Tree | 1998 |
| Barefoot's Best of the Best, Volume 3 | 1998 |
| We Need a Vacation | 1999 |
| Three Coconuts | 2000 |
| Dirty Belly Button | 2002 |
| Loud Shirts | 2003 |
| Just Another Sunset | 2003 |
| Gone Coconutz | 2005 |
| Best of Scuba Do | 2005 |
| In the Bahamas | 2006 |
| Time Flies When You're Havin' Rum | 2008 |
| Only the Good Stuff | 2008 |
| Shoeless Classics, Volume I | 2009 |
| Shoeless Classics, Volume II | 2009 |
| Thong Gone Wrong | 2009 |
| Bahamas Best | 2009 |
| Children of the Caribbean | 2009 |
| Dirty Foot | 2010 |
| Horses on the Beach | 2010 |
| One Way Ticket to the Beach | 2011 |
| You Had to be There | 2012 |
| Sand Dollars | 2013 |
| Beach Bummin' Around | 2014 |
| Why Didn't I Think of That? | 2016 |
| Best Ever CD from the Cayman Islands | ??? |
| Beyond the Reef | ??? |
| The Ballad of Richard Le Noir (Big Black Dick) and More Fun Rummy Calypso's | ??? |
| Calypso Classics | ??? |
| Fake Boobs and Belly Buttons | ??? |
| Hot, Hot, Hot | ??? |
| Loud Shirts and Coconuts | ??? |
| Reggae 'n Rum | ??? |
References
- About Barefoot Man Archived 6 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Friel, Bob. "Local Character: Barefoot Man". Caribbean Travel & Life. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- Payne, Bob (July–August 1995). "Barefoot Soul". Islands Magazine (Vol. 15, Num. 4). Islands Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- Nowak, H. G. (5 November 2012). Which way to the Islands (Volume 1) (Paperback ed.). Daring Books. p. 238. ISBN 978-0938936718.