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Sonia Eloise Pottinger OD ( Durrant; 21 June 1931 – 3 November 2010)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 316Sonia Pottinger, Jamaica's first female music producer, is dead
", ''
Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...
'', 5 November 2010, retrieved 6 November 2010
Campbell, Howard (2010)
Sonia Pottinger Leaves Rich Legacy
, ''
Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...
'', 7 November 2010, retrieved 7 November 2010
Walters, Basil (2010)
Sonia Pottinger remembered: Ja’s first female record producer passes
", ''
Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...
'', 7 November 2010, retrieved 7 November 2010
was a Jamaican
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
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 Paul Bogle, designated in 1969 as one of Jamaica's seven Natio ...
. 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 A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
– 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, Derrick Harriott, Lord Tanamo, and teenager
Millie Small Millicent Dolly May Small Order of Distinction, CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer who is best known for her international hit "My Boy Lollipop" (1964). The song reached number two in both the UK Singles Chart, UK and ...
. David Katz, Sonia Pottinger obituary, ''The Guardian'', 18 November 2010
Retrieved 8 May 2020
Laurence Cane-Honeysett, "Millie Small, the Lollipop Girl", ''Record Collector''
Retrieved 7 May 2020
In 1964, Lindon Pottinger sold his recording equipment to
Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and record 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 Tr ...
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 and early reggae eras, she became prolific with hits by The Ethiopians ("The Whip"), Delano Stewart,
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 ...
, Alton Ellis and
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 record 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 Tr ...
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), 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,
Culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
, U Roy and
Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican Toasting (J ...
. Her most well known production is Culture's ''Harder Than The Rest'' album, released in 1978. In the
dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
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 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. 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, Alvin Ranglin, Donovan Germain, and Tommy Cowan.Walters, Basil (2010)
Sonia Pottinger broke the glass ceiling
", ''
Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...
'', 21 November 2010, retrieved 21 November 2010


Partial discography

* Various Artists – ''Dancing Down Orange Street'' (High Note, 1969) * Various Artists – ''Musical Feast'' ( Heartbeat Records, 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 a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
– ''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 – ''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 & the Dominoes – ''From Jamaica with Reggae''. Produced by Sonia Pottinger


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pottinger, Sonia Jamaican record producers 1931 births 2010 deaths People from Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica