Phyllis Dillon

Linstead

Phyllis Dillon was born in Linstead, St. Catherine, in 1944 (some sources say 1948). Guitarist Lynn Taitt heard her singing with a group called the Vulcans at Kingston’s Glass Bucket Club and brought her to Duke Reid.

Treasure Isle

She recorded only for Reid. Her debut “Don’t Stay Away” (1966) went to No. 1 on the Radio Jamaica Top 40, and “Perfidia” (1967), backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, became her signature. She cut duets with Alton Ellis, including “Why Did You Leave Me to Cry.” At the end of 1967 she moved to New York and took a bank job, flying back to Kingston to record; One Life to Live came out in 1972.

Queen of Rocksteady

She returned to the stage in 1991 and toured the UK, Germany and Japan. Phyllis Dillon died of cancer on Long Island, New York, on April 15, 2004. Jamaica awarded her the Order of Distinction after her death.