J.C. Lodge

Last updated

J.C. Lodge
Birth nameJune Carol Lodge
Born (1958-12-01) 1 December 1958 (age 65)
London, England
Origin Jamaica
Genres Reggae
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, fine artist, teacher
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1980–present
Labels
Website jclodge.net

J.C. Lodge (born June Carol Lodge, 1 December 1958), [1] is a British-Jamaican reggae singer, fine artist and teacher. Her breakthrough hit "Someone Loves You, Honey" became the best-selling single of 1982 in the Netherlands. Lodge is also an accomplished painter, having exhibited in Kingston art galleries, and has acted in several theatre productions. [2]

Contents

Music career

British born to a Jamaican father and British mother, J.C. Lodge 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.

Toward the end of high school, a relationship with Errol O'Meally led her further along her music path. He was a budding songwriter, and used her voice to present some of his material to Joe Gibbs' Recording Studio. [3] Both the songs and the singer were well received, and J.C. was asked to record Charley Pride's hit "Someone Loves You, Honey" in 1980. [2] The reggae version of the country and western tune topped the Jamaican charts, [2] and earned the singer gold and platinum discs in the Netherlands. In fact, it was the No. 1 top-selling single of 1982 over there. While the record was a big hit, it bankrupted Gibbs as he had failed to pay royalties to the songwriter. [2] An album of the same name, featuring the deejay talents of Prince Mohamed was released in 1982.

Lodge followed this with 1985's Revealed album, before signing to Gussie Clarke's Music Works label, and releasing I Believe in You and Selfish Lover albums. [3] "Telephone Love", recorded for Clarke in 1988, was the first dancehall reggae track to cross over in the R&B and hip-hop markets in the United States, topping the urban charts in New York City and other cities, and earning her a deal with the Warner Bros.-owned Tommy Boy label, although the association would be limited to the Tropic of Love album and "Home is Where the Hurt Is" single, which gave her her highest US chart placing, reaching number 45 in the R&B chart. [2] [3]

Lodge's albums mostly consisted of reggae, but some with R&B and pop material, too, usually written by O’Meally or J.C.. Producers like Joe Gibbs, Willie Lindo, Gussie Clarke, Errol O’Meally and Neil Fraser (a.k.a. Mad Professor), created product which garnered for J.C. several hits and prestigious awards across the world.

Lodge's other songs also include "More Than I Can Say" and "Make It Up." She sang a duet with Tiger on "Love Me, Baby" and with Shabba Ranks on "Telephone Love."

In 2001, she returned to her native England, and recorded Reggae Country for Jet Star, an album of covers of American country songs. [3] She studied for a teaching degree and combined work as a schoolteacher with her music career. [4]

Sing 'n' Learn

J.C. Lodge has been inspired since the birth of her daughter in 1994, to write original children's songs. She released two cassette albums called "Sing 'n' Learn". Ranging from simple counting and spelling for the littlest ones to manners and environmental awareness for pre-teens, Lodge created a variety of rhythms and styles to appeal to kids everywhere. These cassettes were so well received in Jamaica that the Ministry of Education ordered a copy for every Basic School on the island.

In 2000, Lodge was invited by Jamaican National Broadcasting Association TVJ to produce a 13-part children's television series, based on the cassette albums. A critically acclaimed and popular success, the show got awarded by the Press Association of Jamaica and also the Caribbean Broadcasting Union.

Discography

Albums


Singles (selection)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture (band)</span> Jamaican roots reggae band

Culture are a Jamaican roots reggae group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples. The one constant member until his death in 2006 was Joseph Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Andy</span> Jamaican singer (born 1951)

Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.

Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon OD, better known by his stage name Shabba Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home country as a dancehall artist, he gained popularity in North America with his studio album Just Reality in 1990. He released other studio albums, including As Raw as Ever and X-tra Naked, which both won a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He is notoriously popular for "Mr. Loverman" and "Ting-A-Ling", which were globally acclaimed and deemed his signature songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Isaacs</span> Jamaican reggae musician (1951–2010)

Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in The New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".

Joe Gibbs born Joel Arthur Gibson was a Jamaican reggae producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Brown</span> Jamaican reggae singer (1957–1999)

Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers.

Jennifer Esmerelda Hylton, known professionally as Foxy Brown, is a Jamaican reggae singer. Her first introduction to the reggae charts was via the Steely & Clevie-produced versions of Tracy Chapman's "(Sorry) Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight" and "Fast Car," the former even entering Billboard's Black Singles Chart. These led to her being regarded as Jamaica's Tracy Chapman. She released her debut album Foxy, in 1989, which showcased her original songwriting. In 1990 she had a hit with the dancehall single "Always For Me", and a second album, My Kind of Girl, followed in the same year. She also had a hit with Johnny P called "If you Love Me".

Dorothy Smith, better known by her stage name Patra, is a Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VP Records</span> US independent reggae record label

VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the label has established a presence in Toronto, Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady G</span> Musical artist

Janice Fyffe, known as Lady G, is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae deejay. She is widely recognised as a dancehall veteran and pioneer.

Leroy Smart is a reggae singer-songwriter and record producer from Kingston, Jamaica.

Deborahe Elizabeth Glasgow was an English lovers rock singer of Guyanese parentage, who was active from the late 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s. Though Glasgow released only one album in her lifetime, 1989's Deborahe Glasgow, she began releasing singles in her adolescence. She is perhaps best known for her duet with Shabba Ranks on a song initially released as "Champion Lover" on her eponymous album, but recut by Ranks as "Mr. Loverman" in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If You Were Here Tonight</span> 1985 single by Alexander ONeal

"If You Were Here Tonight" is a song written by Monte Moir and recorded by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It is the second single from the singer's self-titled debut solo album, Alexander O'Neal (1985). Following the successful chart performances of the single "Innocent", "If You Were Here Tonight" was released as the album's second single.

Cecil Thomas, known as Nicky Thomas, was a Jamaican-born reggae singer who enjoyed considerable chart success in Jamaica and in the United Kingdom at the start of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gussie Clarke</span> Musical artist

Augustus "Gussie" Clarke is a roots reggae and dub producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.

George Nooks, a.k.a.Prince Mohamed, Prince Mohammed, or George Knooks is a Jamaican reggae singer who initially found fame as a deejay.

Ruddy Thomas was a Jamaican reggae singer, musician, and recording engineer, who had his greatest successes as a singer in the late 1970s and early 1980s with lovers rock songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Someone Loves You Honey</span> 1978 single by Charley Pride

"Someone Loves You Honey" is a song written by Don Devaney, originally released by American country music singer Johnny Rodriguez in 1974 on his fourth album, Songs About Ladies and Love. It was recorded by American country music artist Charley Pride and released in January 1978 as the second single and title track from the album of the same name. The song was Pride's 20th number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for two weeks and spent a total of 12 weeks on the country chart.

Norman Washington Jackson, better known as Tiger, is a Jamaican dancehall musician active since the late 1970s. He is known for his growling style of deejaying, often imitated by other dancehall deejays since his initial rise to fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie McGregor</span> Jamaican singer, musician and record producer

Fredrick “Freddie” McGregor is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old.

References

  1. She performed and released records under different artist names:
    • June Lodge
    • June C. Lodge
    • from 1984 on as J.C. Lodge.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN   0-7535-0242-9
  3. 1 2 3 4 Huey, Steve "June Lodge Biography", AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation
  4. Johnson, Richard (2019) "New music coming from JC Lodge", Jamaica Observer , 15 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019