Her success in the 1960s provided her with the finances to purchase the back catalogue of Duke Reid's Treasure Island label (her ownership was challenged in court by Reid's great rival Clement "Coxsone" Dodd but she prevailed in a 2009 ruling, just before her death in 2010). She released her singles and albums on the Gay Feet, Tip Top, Rainbow and High Note labels. In fact, her first single Every Night by Joe White & Chuck was an award-winning hit and it was followed by JA hits from Roland Alphonso, and later The Ethiopians, Delroy Wilson, Delano Stewart, The Melodians, Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis and, one of my favourites, Toots & The Maytals. Some of the best songs from this period were recorded by her. This was an important transition period as ska was morphing into rocksteady and early reggae. She opened the Tip Top Record Shop at 37 Orange Street (the street for music in Kingston) in 1965 and began producing records in 1966. With three young children to raise, Sonia Pottinger decided to continue working at something she knew - producing records. In 1964, Lindon sold his recording equipment to producer Duke Reid, and shortly after the couple separated. The labels he set up, including Gaydisc and SEP (the initials of his wife, Sonia) released early singles by The Maytals, Lord Tanamo and a young Mille Small. Lindon would later own a small vinyl pressing plant. In 1961, Lindon opened a small recording studio, the first set up by a black person, to produce local acts and distribute their singles. Both were accountants and their entrepreneurial spirit led them to create several businesses, including a bakery and a bicycle shop.
It was this musical soundscape that Sonia Pottinger and her husband, accountant Lindon Pottinger were attracted to. Hits recorded in Jamaica were repackaged to new UK labels like Trojan, which led to Top 20 hits like Millie Small's 1964 My Boy Lollipop, which reached No.2 on both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 (Pottinger produced some of Small's early singles).Īt that time, the Jamaican music scene was dominated by ska and sound system recordings, as well as R&B, Gospel, pop ballads and even mento, the folk music of Jamaica. Jamaican music burst onto the international scene with ska hits in the early 1960s. She was the first female record producer in Jamaica and her pinnacle came during the 1960s, beginning with the ska era after which she made a transition to rocksteady and finally reggae. Sonia Pottinger was a trailblazing pioneer in Jamaica's male-dominated music industry as she played an important role in the development of popular music in the Caribbean island.