Singer Auraiya Hope's "It Hurts to Be Alone" Is a Cover of Beverley Kelso's Wailer's Original

A member of the original Wailers which formed in Trench Town, Jamaica during the early 1960s, Beverley Kelso sang on a handful of their early songs including It Hurts to Be Alone and Simmer Down. Recently, singer Auraiya Hope covered the former as a tribute to the unheralded artist.

Auraiya Hope (left) and Beverley Kelso, original member of The WailersHope’s version of It Hurts to Be Alone is produced by Oniel Walters for Rocky Valley Records. It was released in January, four months after she first met Kelso at an event in her honor in Trench Town.

“Since then I have considered her and her husband to be dear friends, as I had the privilege of being her chaperone on her recent visit to Jamaica in April to celebrate her 76th birthday. During this time I got to learn more about Beverley and I was truly inspired by her positive outlook on life, her kindness, personality and her humility. Of the over two dozen songs she recorded with The Wailers, I had a special love for It Hurts to Be Alone,” said Hope.

Released in 1964, one year after The Wailers formed, It Hurts to Be Alone is a jazzy ballad featuring Junior Braithwaite on lead vocals. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston (later Wailer), Kelso and Cherry Smith, provided backing vocals, with Ernie Ranglin playing its memorable guitar solo.

Hope was excited about putting her spin on the song which has also been covered by Marcia Griffiths.

“The song has a unique character being a ballad, with a very distinctive guitar solo played by Ernie Ranglin and that drew my attention. The message of the song also got my attention as it spoke about the seriousness of cherishing another person's emotions, as well as expressing the anguish that we feel when we end up lonely,” she said.

The Chronicles of Love, Hope’s first album, was released in January.

Kelso, a longtime resident of New York City, gave up the music business after migrating to the United States. With the deaths of Marley, Tosh, Braithwaite, Smith and Bunny Wailer, she is the only survivor of the original Wailers.