Arguably one of Jamaica’s finest singers, Totlyn Jackson had a career that spanned more than four decades.

The 84-year-old passed away in London on June 15 after a short illness.

Dr Myra Hague-Bradshaw, principal of Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, described the late singer as a remarkable woman.

“She was a brilliant lady. She was classically trained, so she brought a level of technical skills to the jazz festival and to the music scene on a whole. She was very gifted and musicians liked to work with her as you could just put sheet music in front of her and she would just sing,” Dr Hague-Bradshaw told the Sunday Observer.

Dr Hague-Bradshaw said Jackson’s last performance on the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival was in the early 2000s.

Hailing from the parish of St Mary, Jackson was once described as Jamaica’s ‘First Lady of Song’. She made her name as a north coast cabaret singer during the island’s tourism boom of the 1950s. She eventually migrated to London where she continued to perform at prestigious venues, including Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Restaurant in Liverpool.

“She was a superstar and a celebrity before the term was even recognised here. She was very independent and strived at a time when women were expected to marry and take care of the home. Growing up, I really didn’t see much Caribbean woman as a role model, but she was for me. She proved that in those times a lady could have a booming career while taking care of her family,” said Dr Hague-Bradshaw.

Dr Hague-Bradshaw said they maintained a close relationship as she would often visit her on her trips to London.

“The last time I spoke with her was last year, and I even read to her the case study I had done on her when I was doing my PhD. She was quite pleased with it. I tried contacting her this year, but she was in and out of hospital. I was really broken up when I learnt that she had passed away,” she said.

— Simone Morgan-Lindo