Dillon. last performed in Jamaica at Srars 'R' Us on Valentine's Day

Popular singer Phyllis Dillon died at her home in Long Island, New York on Thursday night. She was 59 and had been ailing from cancer.

The singer's sister, Blondell Dillon-Beckford, informed the Observer that Phyllis will be buried in New York.

"We haven't finalised the details of the funeral arrangements as yet, but she will definitely be buried here in New York. We are dealing with the grief of her passing and I am just glad that she is not feeling anymore pain," Dillon-Beckford said.

Dillon last performed in Jamaica at the popular vintage show Stars 'R' Us held in Montego Bay on February 14. After the show she returned to New York where she was hospitalised. She spent a month in hospital before being released and allowed to return home.

"The doctors in Jamaica were treating her for acid reflux and arthritis. They were treating her for the wrong thing; maybe she would've had a little more hope," Dillon-Beckford commented.

Marvin "Horseman" Pitterson, promoter of the Stars 'R' Us series, remembers Dillon as a true professional and a friend.

"She (Phyllis) was just a nice, nice, nice person. She was a lady and true professional. It was really a pleasure working with her and her passing is a significant loss to the music community and Jamaica, and she said in one of her songs 'I only have one life to live and I'm going to live'; that is a true reflection of how she lived her own life," Pitterson said.

Originally from Linton in St Catherine, Dillon began her professional career at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle studio. Like most singers from her time (1960s) she started singing in school, church, and later with a band called the Vulcans.
It was during a performance with the Vulcans at the famous Glass Bucket Club in Kingston that Dillon came to the attention of Reid who signed her in 1965.She never recorded for another Jamaican producer.

She wrote her first single Don't Stay Away, which was released in 1966. It went straight to number one on the RJR Top 40 chart and stayed there for four weeks. She recorded duets with Alton Ellis, who in past interviews Dillon mentions as one who encouraged her professionally and Boris Gardiner and Hopeton Lewis. The most popular of her duets were: Right Track and Remember That Sunday with Ellis, and Walk Through This World With Me, and Love Was All We Had with Hopeton Lewis.

Ellis was particularly devastated by the passing of his close friend.

"I was listening to the radio this morning (yesterday) and heard a lot of Phyllis' songs being played. I immediately got curious only to find out that this beautiful songbird had passed away. She was a wonderful person, a truly wonderful person with a soft gentle voice that everyone loved. We were close friends especially in the early part of our careers, and I was very happy when she visited England in 1997 to perform on my Rock Steady Gala show. Bwoy this is a big loss for me personally and for music," Ellis said.

Dillon's solo hits included Perfidia, the self-written Rock Steady, One Life To Live, Don't Touch Me Tomato, Nice Time and We Belong Together among others. These hits earned her the title 'Queen of Rock Steady'.

Dillon left Jamaica in December of 1967 for New York. She found employment doing temporary jobs before landing a stable position at a bank. She would then visit Jamaica at least twice a year to record for Reid.

Her first major live performance in Jamaica following a hiatus of 17 years was in 1991 when Dillon performed on the stage of "Get Ready Rock Steady" held at the National Arena.
Michael Barnett, one of the directors of MKB Productions, producers of the Get Ready Rock Steady remembers the occasion well.

"Her performance on 'Get Ready Rock Steady' in June of 1991 came after many years of negotiating, but it was all worth it as the audience really warmed to her. We became friends as Phyllis performed on several other shows including Heineken Startime. Phyllis was a humble person, who loved her music. She was a professional to the core and I for one was really happy that this wonderful individual was able to give up her job in the States to earn a living from her performances. Her passing is really a tragic loss for Jamaica's music," Barnett said.

Her work can be found on solo albums and a long list of various artistes' compilations from Trojan and Heartbeat Records.

Dillon, who never married, is survived by a son Nigel and a daughter Janice.

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