Maureen Sheridan, who covered the reggae beat for Billboard Magazine for several years and who had a hit song with Two White Girls Pon A Minibus, has died. Her death, at age 81, was confirmed in a Facebook post by her daughters, Tasha Ninotchka and Angelique Wagner.

According to the post, she passed away November 14 “after a long and courageous battle that lasted over three months”. It did not disclose where she died.

Though considered Canadian, Sheridan was reportedly born in the United Kingdom. She lived for many years in Ocho Rios and worked as a singer/producer, with her best-known music venture being Two White Girls Pon A Mini Bus.

That 1988 single was done by The Word which comprised Sheridan and Tasha. Produced by Grove Music, it was a humorous look at the diabolic state of public transportation in Jamaica at the time, and became an unlikely hit.

Sheridan was also author of Bob Marley (The Stories Behind the Songs), a book released in April 2011, which looks at the reggae legend’s vast catalogue through interviews with Rita Marley, surviving members of his band The Wailers, and studio engineers.

The prolific Sheridan covered the reggae scene in Jamaica for Billboard Magazine from 1984 to 1993, a time when the music transitioned from Rasta and roots to the flamboyance of dancehall.

Maureen Sheridan is survived her daughters, who said, “We have lost our mother, and the world has lost an incredible woman.”

— Howard Campbell