Phyllis Dillon

Biography

Phyllis Dillon (27 December 1944 – 15 April 2004) was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer who recorded for Duke Reid's lucrative Treasure Isle record label in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Life and career

Dillon was born in 1944 in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica, and attended the Linstead Primary School. 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 Reid's session guitarist Lynn Taitt discovered Dillon.
Dillon was introduced to Treasure Isle studios by Tommy McCook, and recorded her first record for Duke Reid, "Don’t Stay Away", in late 1966, a recording that has been described as "perhaps the finest female performance in Jamaican music". While most of Dillon's subsequent recordings would be covers of popular and obscure American songs including Bettye Swann's "Make Me Yours", Perry Como's "Tulips and Heather," The Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions," and Stephen Stills's "Love the One You're With"; "Don't Stay Away×Don't Stay Away2011 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks1Don't Stay Away2:372Perfidia2:493Love The One You're With3:314Rock Steady2:535The Love That A Woman Should Give A Man2:416Why Did You Leave3:097Don't Touch My Tomato2:478Picture On The Wall2:549One Life To Live3:4510Something2:1911Boys And Girls Reggae2:1412Wear His Ring3:1713Close To You3:2514Woman Ghetto2:4815Eddie Oh Baby2:0816You're Like Heaven To Me2:5817We Belong Together2:3018Nice Time3:0819I Can't Forget About You Baby2:49" 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 Dillon's mastery of the rocksteady sound, a much slower, soulful, response to the sultry weather that made ska's upbeat rhythm and tempo undesirable, even impracticable, it was no indication of her 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. Dillon also recorded duets with Ellis (as 'Alton and Phyllis'), including "Why Did You Leave Me To Cry" and "Remember that Sunday". Dillon is regarded as one of the key singers of the rocksteady era.
At the end of 1967, Dillon moved to New York. The following five years were spent living a double life. She had a family and career in banking 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.
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 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.
Dillon died on 15 April 2004 in Long Island, New York, after a two-year battle with cancer, at the age of 59. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction in 2009 by the Jamaican government.

Albums

One Life to Live (1972), Treasure Isle
Compilations

Love Is All I Had (1994), Rhino
One Life to Live (2000), Rhino
Midnight Confessions: Classic Rocksteady And Reggae (2000), Westside
Love Is All I Had (A Tribute To The Queen Of Jamaican Soul) (2004), Trojan

Singles

"Don't Stay Away×Don't Stay Away2011 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks1Don't Stay Away2:372Perfidia2:493Love The One You're With3:314Rock Steady2:535The Love That A Woman Should Give A Man2:416Why Did You Leave3:097Don't Touch My Tomato2:478Picture On The Wall2:549One Life To Live3:4510Something2:1911Boys And Girls Reggae2:1412Wear His Ring3:1713Close To You3:2514Woman Ghetto2:4815Eddie Oh Baby2:0816You're Like Heaven To Me2:5817We Belong Together2:3018Nice Time3:0819I Can't Forget About You Baby2:49" (1967), Treasure Isle
"This Is a Lovely Way" (1967), Treasure Isle
"Perfidia" (1967), Treasure Isle
"Things Of The Past" (1967), Treasure Isle
"I Wear This Ring"/"Don't Touch Me Tomato" (1968), Treasure Isle
"Love Is All I Had×Love Is All I Had2004 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 29 tracks1Don’t Stay Away2:332(This Is) A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening2:503Tulips (And Heather)3:094A Thing of the Past2:425Make Me Yours2:206Leave It in the Hands of Love2:567Perfidia2:468It’s Rocking Time2:509Nice Time2:2610I Wear His Ring2:1111Don’t Touch Me Tomato2:5912Why Did You Leave Me2:3813Love Letters2:3814Love Is All I Had2:4615Boys and Girls Reggae2:1616Take My Heart2:2117The Right Track2:2918Walk Through This World With Me2:1519Remember That Sunday2:3720You Are Like Heaven to Me2:0621Living in Love2:3222Midnight Confessions2:3223Woman in the Ghetto3:2224I Can’t Forget About You Baby3:0525Picture on the Wall2:4426Eddie Oh Baby2:4327The Love That a Woman Should Give a Man3:2928We Belong Together2:5429Love the One You’re With2:53" (1969), Trojan
"Walk Through This World" (1970), Duke - B-side of Tommy McCook and the Supersonics' "The Rooster"
"This Is Me" (1970), Duke Reid
"Midnight Confession" (1971), Treasure Isle
"One Life To Live One Love To Give" (1971), Treasure Isle
"In the Ghetto" (1972), Sioux
"Wide A-Wake In A Dream" (1985), Element Promotion
"Right Track" (2003), Trojan - with Hopeton Lewis
"Why Did You Leave Me To Cry" (2004), Treasure Isle - with Alton Ellis, B-side of Ellis's "If I Could Rule This World"
"Close To You", Treasure Isle - B-side of Alton Ellis's "Rock Steady"
"Get on the Right Track", Treasure Isle
"The Hands of Love", Sure Shot
"Remember That Sunday", Treasure Isle - with Alton Ellis
"Woman of the Ghetto", Treasure Isle
"Right Track", High Note - 12-inch discomix
"Tomato", High Note - 12-inch
"Rock Steady", Treasure Isle
"Humpty Dumpty", Cool Soul
"The Love A Woman Should Give To A Man", Duke Reid Greatest Hits