About Me
Born Shirley Kay in 1948, Phyllis Dillon grew up in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica. She began singing at an early age in school and at church functions. While singing with her first band The Vulcans at The Glass Bucket in Kingston, she met Lynn Taitt. He was so impressed with her singing; he offered to introduce her to legendary producer Duke Reid. Kay was only 19 when she first met Reid at his Treasure Isle studio. It was at that time she decided to change her name. From then on she became known as Phyllis Dillon. This meeting signaled the beginning of her reign as the Queen of Rocksteady.
The first song she recorded with Reid was Dont Stay Away, one of the few she wrote on her own. It ended up being one of the biggest hits of her career. Being 19 at the time and still living with her mother and father, Dillon didnt know about copyright laws. For the recording of her first single she was paid 5 pounds and never received any more money. Even though she was gaining popularity in Jamaica she was told by Reid and others that her album wasnt selling. She soon realized that it was the same all over the recording industry in Jamaica. If she left Reid to work for someone else the results would be the same. So she continued to produce songs with Duke Reid despite his refusal to pay her royalties.
Drawing on the sounds of American artists such as Connie Francis, Patti Page and Dionne Warwick, she began to try and develop her own unique sound. During her career she was known for recording other peoples songs. She often presented Reid with material shed written herself, but often times he felt they were too tame, or wouldnt fit whatever project they were working on. She did duets with the likes of Alton Ellis and Hopeton Lewis, the combination of these voices were phenomenal, but for some reason the songs never quite took off. Still she continued to write her own music but never got the opportunity to record those songs while working for Reid.
Dillon finally became fed up with Reid and moved to New York in 1967. While living in New York, she would occasionally travel back to Jamaica to do some more recording. The recording sessions and a few unpaid gigs were short lived. She decided to give up on singing. Tired of being ripped off and not having her creative voice heard she remained in New York. She got married and had 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. Even though she was ready to settle down, her husband was not. Sadly, the marriage ended in divorce. To make ends meet she took many odd jobs and eventually became a bank teller.
Even though she was working as a bank teller, her desire to sing never left her. She would travel to Jamaica at times to sing at hotels, or do a guest spot for some charity event. After vanishing from the music scene for nearly 20+, years she started singing with a Jamaican band in New York, The Buccaneers. They toured all over America, doing charity shows, guest spots for various events, dingy clubs and hotels. Wherever they could get a gig, thats where theyd go. She loved to sing, but soon found out that it was very much like working for Reid. Rarely did she get paid for gigs, and if she did it wasnt even close to the amounts shed been promised.
Phyllis managed to save enough money and built a house in her hometown of Linstead, St. Catherines Jamaica. In February of 2004, she was preparing to embark on a world tour when she suddenly fell ill. She had been being treated for arthritis, complaining of pain all over and just felt sick. After further examination it was discovered she had cancer. It had ravaged her body and spread to her brain. Tragically she lost her battle with cancer on April 15, 2004. She was 59 years old.
