Janet Kay
Encyclopedia
Janet Kay is a British
singer of Jamaica
n parentage best known for her lovers rock
song
s of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover
of Minnie Riperton
's "Lovin' You
". She has also had roles as a theatre
and television
actress. Kay's music
became popular in Japan
in the early 1990s, prompting the release of several of her album
s under the Sony Music Japan record label
.
, of Jamaican parentage. Her career took off when she was invited to sing a reggae
cover of Minnie Ripperton's song
, "Lovin' You" (produced
by Alton Ellis
) which became a hit
in 1977. She also recorded
"I Do Love You" and "That's What Friends Are For
" in 1978. In 1979, "Silly Games" (produced by Dennis Bovell
) became a hit in not only the UK
, but also in Europe
. Kay has been recorded in the Music Guinness Book of Records, as the first British black female to have a reggae song at the top of the UK charts
. In fact, "Silly Games" got to the Number 2 position in the UK Singles Chart
.
She appeared on BBC Television
's Top of the Pops
several times. She was also included in the cast of the sitcom No Problem! (1983–1985) as Angel.
Kay has recorded, and co-produced her seventh album
for Sony Music Japan. It was released on the 18 June 2003, and is entitled Lovin' You … More. The popularity of the song "Lovin' You" in Japan
is so strong, that she was asked to re-record it again for this album (for the third time). That version was produced
by Omar
.
In the UK
she was a one-hit wonder
three times over, as "Silly Games" first hit the UK charts in 1979; then in 1990 as a re-recording billed as Lindy Layton
featuring Janet Kay (Number 22); and again the same year as a remix
version of her original recording spent a further three weeks in the UK Singles Chart.
Kay is credited with production
work on "Missing You" a track recorded by Aswad.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n parentage best known for her lovers rock
Lovers rock
Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid 1970s.-History:...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s of the late 1970s - "Silly Games" and a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
's "Lovin' You
Lovin' You
-Film:*Loving You, an Elvis Presley movie and soundtrack album*Loving You , a melodramatic love story film produced and distributed by Regal Films-Music:...
". She has also had roles as a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress. Kay's music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
became popular in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in the early 1990s, prompting the release of several of her album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s under the Sony Music Japan record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Biography
Kay was born in North West LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, of Jamaican parentage. Her career took off when she was invited to sing a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
cover of Minnie Ripperton's song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Lovin' You" (produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Alton Ellis
Alton Ellis
Alton Nehemiah Ellis, OD, was a Jamaican musician best known as one of the innovators of rocksteady music and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.-Biography:Ellis was born in 1938 and...
) which became a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in 1977. She also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
"I Do Love You" and "That's What Friends Are For
That's What Friends Are For
"That's What Friends Are For" is a 1982 song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and introduced by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift.-Dionne Warwick cover:...
" in 1978. In 1979, "Silly Games" (produced by Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell is a reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer. He was a member of the British reggae band Matumbi, and released dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the pseudonym 'Blackbeard'....
) became a hit in not only the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but also in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Kay has been recorded in the Music Guinness Book of Records, as the first British black female to have a reggae song at the top of the UK charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. In fact, "Silly Games" got to the Number 2 position in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
She appeared on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
several times. She was also included in the cast of the sitcom No Problem! (1983–1985) as Angel.
Kay has recorded, and co-produced her seventh album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
for Sony Music Japan. It was released on the 18 June 2003, and is entitled Lovin' You … More. The popularity of the song "Lovin' You" in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is so strong, that she was asked to re-record it again for this album (for the third time). That version was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Omar
Omar Lye-Fook
Omar Lye-Fook and known as Omar, is an internationally acclaimed British soul singer, songwriter and musician. Omar grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He learned his craft classically, playing the trumpet, piano and percussion. Omar also spent two years at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and...
.
In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
she was a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
three times over, as "Silly Games" first hit the UK charts in 1979; then in 1990 as a re-recording billed as Lindy Layton
Lindy Layton
Lindy Layton was a founding member of, and vocalist for, Beats International. She has released a number of solo albums and singles, and worked with other musicians, more recently including Hardknox and Dub Pistols.-Career:Layton attended the Barbara Speake Stage School in the 1980s...
featuring Janet Kay (Number 22); and again the same year as a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
version of her original recording spent a further three weeks in the UK Singles Chart.
Kay is credited with production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
work on "Missing You" a track recorded by Aswad.
Studio albums
- Silly Games (1979, Arawak)
- Lovin' You (1991, Sony Music Japan)
- Love You Always (1993, Sony Music Japan)
- For the Love of You (1994, Sony Music Japan)
- In Paradise (1996, Sony Music Japan)
- Making History (1998, Sony Music Japan)
- Through the Years (1999, Sony Music Japan)
- Lovin' You ... More (2003, Sony Music Japan)