Phyllis Dillon
Biography
Phyllis Dillon (27 December 1944 — 15 April 2004) was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer who recorded for Duke Reids lucrative Treasure Isle record label in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Dillon was born in 1944 in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica.[1] Influenced by American singers Connie Francis, Patti Page and Dionne Warwick, she began singing in talent contests. It was during a performance at the Glass Bucket Club in Kingston, Jamaica with the group The Vulcans, that Duke Reids session guitarist Lynn Taitt discovered Dillon.[1]
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Dillon was 22 when she recorded her first record for Duke Reid. In 1967, Reid released Dillons "Don’t Stay Away". While most of Dillon’s subsequent recordings would be covers of popular and obscure American songs including Bettye Swanns "Make Me Yours", Perry Comos "Tulips and Heather," The Grass Roots "Midnight Confessions", and Stephen Stillss "Love the One Youre With"; "Dont Stay Away" was an original composition featuring Tommy McCook and the Supersonics as the backing band.
Another original song, "It’s Rocking Time" would later be turned into the Alton Ellis hit "Rocksteady". While these early recordings demonstrate Dillons mastery of the rocksteady sound, a much slower, soulful, response to the sultry weather that made skas upbeat rhythm and tempo undesirable even impracticable, it was no indication of her greatest performance, 1967’s "Perfidia". Popularized by the American surf rock band The Ventures, "Perfidia" is a 1940 song written by Alberto Domínguez and made popular by the Cuban bandleader, Xavier Cugat.
At the end of 1967, Dillon moved to New York.[1] The following five years, she spent living a double life. She had a family and career in the United States, flying frequently back to Kingston, Jamaica to continue recording for Reid.
After a number of singles and an album entitled Living in Love, Dillon ended her recording career in 1971. She was 27 years old.
In 1991, Michael Bonnet, the entertainment director for the Oceanea Hotel in Kingston approached Dillon inviting her to sing. Her refusal at first was later rescinded and sparked a revitalized interest in performing and recording. In the years following, Dillion would tour the UK, Germany and Japan.
In 1998 Phyllis Dillon returned to the recording studio with Lynn Taitt, marked by reinterest in ska music in the United States. She remained active until illness took hold.
Phyllis Dillon died on 15 April 2004 in New York, after a two year battle with cancer, at the age of 59. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.