Happy Birthday to J.C. Lodge, British born to a Jamaican father and English mother, on December 1, 1958. J.C., was taken to Jamaica as a child. There, the Beatles’ fan soon became immersed in R&B and reggae and sang along to everything she heard.
She was encouraged to perform in her high school concerts by classmates, and enjoyed doing so, but felt her career lay either in art or drama. A relationship with Errol O’Meally toward the end of high school, however, led her further along the music path.
He was a budding songwriter and used her voice to present some of his material to Joe Gibbs’ Recording Studio. Both the songs and the singer were well received, and J.C. was asked to cover ‘Someone Loves You, Honey’ in 1980. The reggae-country and western tune topped the Jamaican charts worldwide and earned the singer gold and platinum discs in the Netherlands. Such success convinced J.C. that music should be her main direction.
J.C. recorded nine albums consisting mostly of reggae, but some with R&B and pop material. These were written mainly by O’Meally or J.C. Producers like Joe Gibbs, Willie Lindo, Gussie Clarke, Errol O’Meally, and Neal Fraser (a.k.a. Mad Professor). These garnered for J.C. several hits and prestigious awards across the world.