Biography
Dawn Penn, a singer originating from Jamaica, first gained recognition amid the rocksteady phase of reggae throughout the 1960s. Her unexpected reemergence on the charts arrived in the early 1990s via a dancehall-tinged reinterpretation of her signature track “You Don't Love Me (No, No, No).”
Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she committed the original rendition of that song to tape in the late 1960s at Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One label. Dodd ranked among reggae’s leading figures at the time, and the single achieved major success locally. Additional Studio One sides followed, among them “Blue Yes Blue,” helmed by the renowned Prince Buster, along with a reggae adaptation of Lulu’s “To Sir with Love.”
Penn exited the music industry entirely in 1970 and relocated to the Virgin Islands. Over the ensuing seventeen-year absence she earned her living through positions at accounting firms, banks, and airlines, rendering any prospect of further recordings uncertain. She returned to Jamaica in 1987 intent on restarting her career, though the remainder of the decade yielded limited results.
Early in the 1990s, however, Steely & Clevie oversaw a dancehall-styled remake of “You Don't Love Me (No, No, No),” restoring her to the highest level of visibility she had enjoyed since the late 1960s. Big Beat/Atlantic issued her comeback album No, No, No in 1994, marking her first full-length project since reentering the field.
Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she committed the original rendition of that song to tape in the late 1960s at Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One label. Dodd ranked among reggae’s leading figures at the time, and the single achieved major success locally. Additional Studio One sides followed, among them “Blue Yes Blue,” helmed by the renowned Prince Buster, along with a reggae adaptation of Lulu’s “To Sir with Love.”
Penn exited the music industry entirely in 1970 and relocated to the Virgin Islands. Over the ensuing seventeen-year absence she earned her living through positions at accounting firms, banks, and airlines, rendering any prospect of further recordings uncertain. She returned to Jamaica in 1987 intent on restarting her career, though the remainder of the decade yielded limited results.
Early in the 1990s, however, Steely & Clevie oversaw a dancehall-styled remake of “You Don't Love Me (No, No, No),” restoring her to the highest level of visibility she had enjoyed since the late 1960s. Big Beat/Atlantic issued her comeback album No, No, No in 1994, marking her first full-length project since reentering the field.
Albums
Reggae Rewind
2021
Dawn Penn Gospel
2021
Kingdom of St. Penn
2020
Dawn Penn EP
2011
Let Me Go Girl / I'll Let You Go Boy
2011
Come Again
1996
No, No, No
1994
Singles
