Susan Cadogan
Encyclopedia
Susan Cadogan is a reggae
singer best known for her hit
records
in the 1970s.
of devotional music during the 1950s. She spent several years of her childhood in Belize
, where her family had moved, before returning to Jamaica. She trained and qualified as a librarian
, taking a job in the library
of the University of the West Indies
at Mona
. Her talents as a singer led to her recording
her first single, "Love My Life" for Jamaican Broadcasting DJ
Jerry Lewis, who was the boyfriend of one of Cadogan's schoolfriends. Lee "Scratch" Perry was in the recording studio
at the time, and was impressed by Cadogan's voice
enough to record an album
's worth of material with her, also renaming her Susan.
One of her first recordings for Perry, a cover
of Millie Jackson
's soul
hit, "Hurts So Good" (featuring bassist
Boris Gardiner
and the Zap Pow
horn
s), was released to little effect in Jamaica on Perry's new 'Perries' record label
, but was released in the UK
by Dennis Harris's DIP International label, and topped the UK Reggae Chart. Magnet Records
picked up the single and it went on to reach the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart
, with Cadogan flying to London
to promote the single, including a television appearance on Top of the Pops
. Cadogan then signed directly to Magnet, who issued the official follow-up, the Pete Waterman
produced
"Love Me Baby", which reached number 22 in July 1975, but was her last UK hit Perry, meanwhile, arranged with the Birmingham
based label Black Wax to release an unofficial follow-up - a remix
ed version of "Love My Life". Other singles were released on Klik and Lucky in an attempt to cash in, but none of these charted.
Two mid 1970s albums, Doing It Her Way and Hurt So Good were released by Magnet and Trojan Records
respectively, though with disappointing sales.
Cadogan returned to her library job, but resurfaced as a recording artist in 1982, having a string of hits in Jamaica including covers of "Tracks of My Tears
" and "Piece of My Heart
", and 1983's "(You Know How To Make Me) Feel So Good" - a duet
with Ruddy Thomas
. After returning again to her library job for most of the 1980s, she returned with the Mad Professor
produced album Soulful Reggae in 1992. A further album, Chemistry of Love followed in 1995.
Cadogan caught the music bug once more in 2001, and she performed live at the Heineken Startime Series event in Kingston. More recently, Cadogan has toured together with Glen Adams
and The Slackers
as well as with the Portuguese band The Ratazanas.
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...
singer best known for her 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...
records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the 1970s.
Biography
Cadogan is the daughter of singer Lola Cadogan, who released several 78rpm singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
of devotional music during the 1950s. She spent several years of her childhood in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, where her family had moved, before returning to Jamaica. She trained and qualified as a librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, taking a job in the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
at Mona
Mona, Jamaica
Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, approximately five miles from Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugar plantation, it is the site of a reservoir serving the city of Kingston and of the main campus of the University of the West Indies...
. Her talents as a singer led to her recording
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...
her first single, "Love My Life" for Jamaican Broadcasting DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Jerry Lewis, who was the boyfriend of one of Cadogan's schoolfriends. Lee "Scratch" Perry was in the recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
at the time, and was impressed by Cadogan's voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
enough to record an 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 worth of material with her, also renaming her Susan.
One of her first recordings for Perry, 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 Millie Jackson
Millie Jackson
Mildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
's soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
hit, "Hurts So Good" (featuring bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Boris Gardiner
Boris Gardiner
Boris Gardiner is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist.-Career:Gardiner performed on the tourist circuit for much of the 1960s and was a member of Carlos Malcolm & the Afro Caribs and Byron Lee's Dragonaires...
and the Zap Pow
Zap Pow
Zap Pow were a Jamaican reggae band, whose members have included guitarist Dwight Pinkney and singer Beres Hammond. They existed from 1969 to 1979.-History:...
horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s), was released to little effect in Jamaica on Perry's new 'Perries' 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,...
, but was released 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...
by Dennis Harris's DIP International label, and topped the UK Reggae Chart. Magnet Records
Magnet Records
Magnet Records was a record label started in 1973 by Michael Levy and acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Matchbox, Adrian Baker, Silver Convention, Guys 'n' Dolls, Darts, Kissing the Pink, Bad Manners, David D'Or, Blue Zoo...
picked up the single and it went on to reach the top 5 of 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 ...
, with Cadogan flying to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to promote the single, including a television appearance on 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...
. Cadogan then signed directly to Magnet, who issued the official follow-up, the Pete Waterman
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
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...
"Love Me Baby", which reached number 22 in July 1975, but was her last UK hit Perry, meanwhile, arranged with the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
based label Black Wax to release an unofficial follow-up - 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 ....
ed version of "Love My Life". Other singles were released on Klik and Lucky in an attempt to cash in, but none of these charted.
Two mid 1970s albums, Doing It Her Way and Hurt So Good were released by Magnet and Trojan Records
Trojan Records
Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica...
respectively, though with disappointing sales.
Cadogan returned to her library job, but resurfaced as a recording artist in 1982, having a string of hits in Jamaica including covers of "Tracks of My Tears
The Tracks of My Tears
"The Tracks of My Tears" is a much recorded love ballad introduced in 1965 by The Miracles on Motown's' Tamla label. This song is considered to be among the finest recordings of The Miracles, and it sold over one million records within two years, making it The Miracles' fourth million-selling...
" and "Piece of My Heart
Piece of My Heart
"Piece of My Heart" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns and originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. The song came to greater mainstream attention when Big Brother and the Holding Company covered the song in 1968 and had a hit with it...
", and 1983's "(You Know How To Make Me) Feel So Good" - a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Ruddy Thomas
Ruddy Thomas
Ruddy Thomas was a Jamaican reggae singer, musician, and recording engineer, who had his greatest successes as a singer in the late 1970s and early 1980s with lovers rock songs.-Biography:...
. After returning again to her library job for most of the 1980s, she returned with the Mad Professor
Mad Professor
Mad Professor is a dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or...
produced album Soulful Reggae in 1992. A further album, Chemistry of Love followed in 1995.
Cadogan caught the music bug once more in 2001, and she performed live at the Heineken Startime Series event in Kingston. More recently, Cadogan has toured together with Glen Adams
Glen Adams
Glen Adams was a Jamaican musician, composer, arranger, engineer, producer, based since the mid-1970s in Brooklyn, New York.-Career:...
and The Slackers
The Slackers
The Slackers are a New York City band, formed in Brooklyn in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz...
as well as with the Portuguese band The Ratazanas.
Album discography
- Doing It Her Way (1975) Magnet
- Susan Cadogan aka Hurt So Good (1976) Trojan
- Chemistry of Love (1992) Imp
- Soulful Reggae (1992) Ariwa
- Stealing Love (1998) Rhino
- The Rhythm in You (2003)
- Sincerely (2004) Capo
- Two Sides of Susan (2008) JVC Japan
Video
- Punkcast#631 live with the Jammyland All Stars - Club Seho, New York City, 3 December 2004. (RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
, mp4)