In December 1979, 11-year-old Nadine Sutherland left her home in rural Above Rocks, St Andrew, and went to Tastee in Cross Roads to participate in the grand final of the Tastee Talent Contest, which she won over fellow singer Paul Blake and a brash albino deejay named Yellowman.

Yesterday, Sutherland returned to the location that kick-started her career 40 years ago. Once again, she walked away a winner as the company and IMAGES LLC (out of New York) acknowledged the milestone with a citation, during a ceremony in Tastee’s boardroom.

The event was attended by her mother Beverley Sutherland, Howard McGowan, one of the contest’s original judges, her mentor Sangie Davis and veteran booking agent/road manager Copeland Forbes.

Sutherland thanked her family, Davis and McGowan for their roles in her development. But she gave a special nod to Tastee, which was founded by the Chang family in 1966. The company’s CEO, Patsy Latchman-Atterbury and director Simone Chanpong, were in attendance.

“To Tastee, my destiny has been so intertwined with you. You are a representation of a corporate entity of Jamaica who invested back into the people so a Nadine Sutherland can stand here right now. So, I really want to thank you ’cause you did change my life; you did give me a platform,” she said. “I’m a country girl singing ’round the area; I met Bob Marley, I met Peter Tosh; Sangie wrote my songs. It’s like a Cinderella story, so I’m forever thankful to you.”

Sutherland recalled being told about the Tastee Talent Contest by her cousin, singer Horace Martin, who finished fourth in 1979. She detailed her journey to the grand final; how she discovered her qualification by telegram; how her mother marshalled her costumes and hair; and the guidance she received from Davis.

McGowan, then entertainment editor at The Gleaner, sat alongside fellow journalists Winston Barnes, Basil Walters and Courtney Sargeant on the judges panel, along with bandleader Sonny Bradshaw. It was Bradshaw who encouraged Tastee Managing Director Vincent Chang to start the talent show that would last until 2013.

According to McGowan, it was not just Sutherland’s boldness in performing Tosh’s ganja anthem Buckingham Palace that won her the day.

“She captured the stage. The only person who worked the stage that day was Yellowman,” he said.

Forbes and former Wolmer’s and Kingston batsman Wayne Sutherland (cousin) paid tribute to Sutherland for her enduring career which has produced a number of hit songs including Action, Babyface and Anything For You. Marcia Griffiths, one of her biggest influences, and music industry veteran Clyde McKenzie, also saluted her by cellphone.

Immediately after winning the Tastee Talent Contest, Nadine Sutherland recorded two hit songs — A Young One Like Me and Starvation on The Land. Both were written by Davis and distributed by Marley’s Tuff Gong company.