Monica Johnson, better known by her stage name Doreen Shaffer (sometimes spelled Schaffer or Schaeffer), is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

, and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer. Known as the "Queen of Ska", she was a founding member in 1964 of

the Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

.Campbell, Howard (2018)
Doreen Shaffer: Queen of Ska
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 13 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018

Career

Johnson was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

in the early 1940s to a German father and Costa Rican mother.Augustyn, Heather (2010) ''Ska: An Oral History'' (Kindle edition), McFarland, ASIN B007Y49BIMCampbell, Howard (2018)
Doreen Shaffer: Queen of Ska
, ''

'', 13 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018 She started singing at school, initially inspired by jazz singers such as

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

. She began her career at Studio One, recording duets with

Jackie Opel Dalton Sinclair Bishop (27 August 1937 – 9 March 1970), better known as Jackie Opel, was a Barbadian singer who possessed a rich, powerful voice with a high octave range. He was known as the "Jackie Wilson of Barbadian culture" and was als ...

, before they both joined the Skatalites in 1964. After the Skatalites disbanded in 1965, Shaffer continued as a solo singer. A collection of her recordings for producer

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

, ''First Lady of Reggae'', was released in 1970. She had local success in the 1970s with singles "Sugar Sugar" and "Try a Little Smile". In 1979 she released an album with Naomi Phillips, and in 1986 recorded her debut album proper, ''Wonderful Sounds''. She was part of the reformed Skatalites in 1992, and has continued to perform with them until the pandemic. Another solo album, ''Adorable'', followed in 1997. In 2009 she collaborated with the Moon Invaders on the album ''Groovin.

Discography

* ''First Lady of Reggae'' (1970), Pama * ''Read Me Right'' (1979), Nationwide - Doreen Schaffer & Naomi Philips * ''Wonderful Sounds'' (1986), Revue/Spiderman - also released as ''Sugar Sugar'' * ''Adorable'' (1997), Grover * ''Adorable You'' (2002), Studio One * ''Groovin (2009), Grover - Doreen Schaffer with The Moon Invaders

References

External links

Doreen Shaffer on discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Dorreen 1940s births Living people Jamaican reggae singers Jamaican ska musicians Rocksteady musicians The Skatalites members Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican people of German descent Jamaican people of Costa Rican descent