Lorna Bennett (born 7 June 1952 in Newton,

Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica Saint Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the widest on the island. History Saint Elizabet ...

) is a Jamaican

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 who twice topped the Jamaican singles chart in the early 1970s, and who is best remembered for her reggae version of "Breakfast in Bed".

Biography

Born in St. Elizabeth, Bennett went to school in Kingston and while still at school began singing with the Bare Essential Band, who performed at the Excelsior

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

. At one of these performances she was noticed by

Geoffrey Chung Geoffrey Aloysius Chung (1950 – 13 October 1995) was a Jamaican musician, recording engineer, and record producer. Biography Chung was born in 1950 in Kingston, Jamaica.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of ...

of the

Now Generation Band The Now Generation Band (or NOWGEN) was a Jamaican reggae band during the late 1960s into the 1970s. Beginning as a dance band on the road, they gradually undertook more recording dates and, in 1972, quit road work to concentrate on studio work. ...

, who nurtured her early recording career.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p. 23 A recording of "

Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". It is often ...

" was not commercially successful, but led to producer

Harry J Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass player bef ...

ohnson commissioning Chung to record Bennett's version of

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

's "Breakfast in Bed" in 1972, given a reggae arrangement by Chung, which was a success both locally and in the United Kingdom and the United States. The b-side featured a

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

version of the track by Scotty. Bennett became the first female artist to top the singles chart in Jamaica for five years, a feat repeated with the follow-up, a cover of

The Dixie Cups The Dixie Cups (formerly known as The Meltones) are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their 1964 million-selling record "Chapel of Love", " People Say", and "Iko Iko". Career ...

' "

Chapel of Love "Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Whitburn, Joel (2009). ''Top Pop Singles 1955-2008'' ...

".Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 27 Further recordings followed, while Bennett at the same time studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at university, these forming her debut album, ''This is Lorna''. Bennett put her music career on hold while she moved to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

to complete her degree, but on her return in 1974 recorded the

Pluto Shervington Pluto Shervington, also known as Pluto (born Leighton Shervington; 13 August 1950 in Kingston, Jamaica), is a reggae musician, singer, engineer and producer. Career Shervington began his career in the early 1970s as a member of the showband Tom ...

song "Dancing to my Own Heartbeat". She then gave up her musical career, and moved back to St. Elizabeth and opened a legal practice. In 2001, she decided to return to music, and performed at Christmas Vintage showsWalters, Basil (2003)
G T Taylor extravaganza returns to Independence Park
, ''

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 ...

'', 29 November 2003 and the ''Heineken Startime'' concerts, as well as performances in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. She then began working on new material with

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

. In 2003, Bennett delivered a eulogy at the funeral of David "Scotty" Scott, the deejay with whom she had shared her first number one single.Munroe, David (2003)
Scotty draws his brakes
, ''

'', 17 March 2003

Discography

Albums

*''This is Lorna'' (1972) Harry J

Singles

*"I Believe in You" (1970), Harry J *"Letter From Miami" (1970), Harry J/Decca *"Morning Has Broken" (1971) *"Breakfast in Bed" (1972), Harry J - JA #1 *"Skank in Bed" (1972), Blue Mountain - with Scotty *"Going to the Chapel" (1973), Harry J - JA #1 *"It Hurts to Want it so Bad", Harry J *"I Love Every Little Thing About You" (1973), Harry J *"I'm Satisfied", (197?), Harry J *"Stay With You Awhile" (197?), Harry J *"Run Johnny Run" (1975), Jaywax/Trojan *"Reverend Lee" (1976), Harry J/Trojan *"To the Other Woman" (1976), Harry J/Trojan *"Dancing to my Own Heartbeat" (1974), Wild Flower *"Ease Up", Elizabeth *"Stay With Me" (197?), Harung *"It's My House" (1979), High Note *"The Real Thing" (2006), Taxi *"Knock Knock" (2006), Taxi *"How U Like It" (2005), - featuring

Spragga Benz Carlton Errington Grant (born 30 May 1969), better known as Spragga Benz, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. Career He began his career around 1991. He was once known to his friends as "Spaghetti" (tall and slim), but this was later shortened to ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Lorna 1952 births Living people 20th-century Jamaican women singers Jamaican reggae singers People from Saint Elizabeth Parish Trojan Records artists Island Records artists 21st-century Jamaican women singers