Yvonne Curtis

Yvonne Curtis

Yvonne Curtis with the Serenaders in 1978
Background information
Birth name Yvonne McIntosh
Born Steer Town, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, West Indies
Genres Reggae
Roots reggae
Calypso
Lovers Rock
Soca
Occupation(s) singer-songwriter
Years active 1978–present
Labels Digital Jukebox Records, Third World Music, Empire Records, Browns Music Records
Associated acts Blak Prophetz
Website www.yvonnecurtis.net

Yvonne Curtis born Yvonne McIntosh is of Jamaican descent and was born in the St Ann parish of Jamaica where she regularly attended a local church where she eventually joined the choir at a very early age after which she was later encouraged to pursue a career in singing. Yvonne and has lived in the United Kingdom since the early 1960's and became the lead singer of The Serenaders and can often be found to be travelling back and forth from the Caribbean Islands performing as the Reggae and Soca artist under the name Yvonne Curtis.

History

Born and raised in Jamaica the young gospel singer Yvonne Curtis left St Ann's Jamaica in the 1960s as a teenager for a better life and education in England. She continued her musical career from her new home in Highbury & Islington, London. Whilst studying in college in the 1970s Yvonne sang in many local bands and it wasn’t too long before she decided it was time to seriously pursue her singing career.

1970s

A local recording producer needed a backing vocalist for his musical project and a contest was held in Stockwell, South London. Having been advised to enter the young Yvonne Curtis came second in the contest to her best friend who came first from which producer took them both on asking them to conduct vocals session works. The official recording of the track took place at the BBC Recording Studios in central London and it was at this moment the producer felt that her voice was too strong to be left in the background from which he later insisted that Yvonne was to permanently sing lead instead of backing vocals.

During the mid-1970s Curtis joined a local band called the Okendoes and Chalis thereafter to which she found no real success. After many different small projects in 1975 and no real commercial success she began working with a record label called Third World Music under Shelly Barrett aka Count Shelly who released Curtis's first song entitled "What’s Your Name" which was an instant success. Things began moving and she soon left Third World Records to sign with London's Empire Records which was a subsidiary division of Jamaica's Channel One Studios with whom she released another hit song called 'Convenient Woman', written by Yvonne Curtis. After 2 years she left Empire Records to release her own single called 'No Charge' which was on World Sounds Records before joining a successful Reggae band called The Serenaders who were signed to Brown's Music Records. The first release by this band was a single entitled 'Only for Lovers' and soon after came 'Sweet Loving' which was a successful hit song written by Yvonne Curtis. The song did extremely well and caused a huge demand for her tours and performances globally. During 1994 she travelled to Germany, Nicaragua and Brazil creating a fan base and was performing for the Warehouse Showcase show which was televised for the UK’s, London's Carlton Television to which she also appeared. In 1998 she appeared with Pete Campbell on the The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 and featured in songs by the Reggae Boys. During this time she was constantly writing and recording songs under Brown's Music & World Sounds Records both as a solo artist and under the band named 'Wavet' which included further performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The mid-2000s

In year 2000 The Seranaders fell apart upon the death of 3 of its members and Yvonne went back to World Sound Records to continue recording her new songs. In 2013 on a joint venture with Browns Records she released an album entitled 'Lets Unite in Love' which was distributed VP Records in the US. The album was an instant success and caused such a demand for Yvonnes music worldwide. In 2015 Yvonne met record producer and label owner Mark Anthony Blak Prophetz and joined Digital Jukebox Records in 2015. The first release was an almighty 3CD compilation of her greatest hits followed by a crossover version of the Christmas medley ‘When a Child is Born’ & ‘Mary’s Boy Child’. John Nolan a journalist and reviewer for 'Reggae In New York' spoke very highly of the albums success in the USA stating "Often the most talented artists go for decades without the commercial recognition they deserve. Despite her lack of commercial success Yvonne Curtis is a driving force in reggae music with an evolving sound that has spanned the entire reggae spectrum. Since 1978 she has released 11 albums, as well as numerous compilations and singles.".[1]

Today

Yvonne is back and forth from Jamaica, the Caribbean to London and has found her home with Digital Jukebox Records and is continuing to release and write new songs with her producers.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

  1. ↑ Nolan, John. "Yvonne Curtis: Interview & Album Review". Reggae In New York. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
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