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 ...
record producer. An icon in the music business, Sonia Pottinger was the first female Jamaican record producer and produced artists from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s.
Biography
Sonia Durrant was born in Leith Hall,
Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica
Saint Thomas, once known as ''Saint Thomas in the East'', is a suburban parish situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, within the county of Surrey. It is the birthplace of the Right Honourable Paul Bogle, designated in 1969 as one of Jama ...
. She moved to Kingston as a child, and attended St George's girls school. She trained as a secretary and followed an accountancy course before marrying accountant Lindon O. Pottinger. The couple set up several businesses in Kingston, including a bicycle shop and a bakery. In 1961 Lindon Pottinger opened a small recording studio – the first in Jamaica to be owned by a black person - to produce recordings by local acts. He set up several record labels including Gaydisc and SEP (Sonia's initials), and recorded acts including
the Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
,
Derrick Harriott
Derrick Clifton Harriott OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, ...
Millie Small
Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit " My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...
Duke Reid
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...
and shortly afterwards the Pottingers separated. Sonia decided to continue producing records. She opened her Tip Top Records Shop in 1965 and started to record musicians in 1966. The first single she issued was "Every Night" by Joe White & Chuck. Other artists recorded during this period included Roland Alphonso. Throughout the
rock steady
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 ...
The Melodians
The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett (born 1949, nephew of The Skatalites bassist, Lloyd Brevett), Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton.
("Swing And Dine"),
Ken Boothe
Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...
Toots & the Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
, released on her Gay Feet, Tip Top, Rainbow, and High Note labels. In the early 1970s her work was less prolific, but in 1974 she bought the Treasure Isle label from long-time friend
Duke Reid
Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.
He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...
shortly before his death. Her rights to the label's recordings were challenged by the Jamaica Recording and Publishing Studio Limited (the company created by Reid's rival
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd
Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...
), Reid's son Anthony and his company Treasure Isle Records International Limited, and Edward "Bunny" Lee, but the case was decided in her favour in 2009.
In the 1970s, she produced albums by Bob Andy,
Marcia Griffiths
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born 23 November 1949) is a Jamaican singer. One reviewer described her by noting "she is known primarily for her strong, smooth-as-mousse love songs and captivating live performances".
Biography
Born in West Kingst ...
,
Culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
,
U Roy
Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...
and Big Youth. Her most well known production is Culture's ''Harder Than The Rest'' album, released in 1978. In the dancehall era she produced Archie & Lynn's "Rat in the Centre". She retired from the music business in 1985.
Sonia Pottinger died at her home in Kingston on 3 November 2010, after suffering for some time with Alzheimer's disease. A thanksgiving service in her honour was held on 19 November 2010, attended by Minister of Culture Olivia 'Babsy' Grange and major figures from the Jamaican music industry including
Judy Mowatt
Judith Veronica Mowatt, (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Early life
Mowatt was born in Gord ...
,
Alvin Ranglin
Alvin 'GG' Ranglin (born 1942, Eden, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica)Greene (Alvin Ranglin Biography) is a Jamaican reggae singer, record producer and record label owner.
Biography
Ranglin started to sing in public in his teens with an Adventist Chur ...
* Various Artists – ''Dancing Down Orange Street'' (High Note, 1969)
* Various Artists – ''Musical Feast'' (
Heartbeat Records
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.
Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of L ...
, 1991)
* Various Artists – ''The Reggae Train (More Great Hits From The High Note Label)'' (Heartbeat, 1996)
* Various Artists – ''Put on Your Best Dress: Sonia Pottinger's Rock Steady 1967–1968''
* Various Artists – ''Queen Patsy & Stranger Cole (Fabulous Songs of Miss Sonia Pottinger Vol.1)'' (Rock A Shacka, 2007)
*
Culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
– ''Harder Than The Rest'' (High Note, 1978)
* Culture – ''Culture in Dub'' (High Note / Heartbeat, 1978)
* Culture – ''Cumbolo'' (High Note, 1979)
* Culture – ''International Herb'' (High Note, 1979)
* Culture – ''Trod On'' (High Note / Heartbeat, 1993)
* Culture – ''Production Something'' (High Note / Heartbeat, 1998)
* Various Artists – ''Old Hits of the Past'' (High Note)
* Joe White & Chuck Josephs – ''Every Night'' (Gay Feet)
* Joe White & Chuck Josephs – ''My Love For You'' (Gay Feet)
*
The Hippy Boys
The Hippy Boys was a Jamaican band formed in 1968 by Lloyd Charmers. The band included guitarist Alva "Reggie" Lewis, organist Glen Adams, and brothers Aston 'Family Man' Barrett on bass guitar and Carlton Barrett on drums.
After the UK Single ...
– ''Dr No Go'' (High Note)
* Various Artists – ''Time To Remember'' (High Note)
* Phyllis Dillon – ''One Life To Live'' (Treasure Isle)
* Bob Andy – ''Lots of Love And I'' (High Note)
* Sonia Spence – ''In The Dark'' (High Note & Sky Note)
* Claudell Clarke – ''How Great Is Our God'' (Glory)
* Otis Wright – ''Sacred Songs'' (High Note, 1969)
* Otis Wright – ''Soul Stirring Gospel'' (Glory)
* Otis Wright – ''Man of Galilee'' (Glory)
* Various Artists – ''Chorus Time'' (Glory)
* Various Artists – ''Hottest Hits Vol.1'' (Treasure Isle). Compiled and produced by Sonia Pottinger
* Various Artists – ''Hottest Hits Vol.2'' (Treasure Isle). Compiled and produced by Mrs Sonia Pottinger
* Various Artists – ''Treasure Dub Vol.1''. Mixed by Errol Brown. Produced by Sonia Pottinger
* Various Artists – ''Treasure Dub Vol.2''. Mixed by Errol Brown. Produced by Sonia Pottinger
*
Justin Hinds
Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes.
He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorde ...
& the Dominoes – ''From Jamaica with Reggae''. Produced by Sonia Pottinger