Kevin Lyttle

Kevin Lyttle absorbed a potent blend of sounds as a seven-year-old, perched on his mother’s shoulders while local Calypsonians paraded past and later viewing Michael Jackson deliver “Billie Jean” on television. Although soca dominated the airwaves of his birthplace, St. Vincent, the teenager’s first onstage performance at age fourteen featured the R&B ballad “Shower Me With Your Love” by Surface. Limited family resources prompted him to take assorted daytime employment, set aside earnings, and record demonstration tapes whenever funds permitted. Enthusiastic colleagues at work extolled the virtues of local producer Adrian Bailey, whose polished approach was generating considerable buzz throughout the soca scene. Upon receiving one of Lyttle’s demos, Bailey found himself captivated by the vocal timbre, likening it to the dreamy, soulful delivery associated with reggae artist Beres Hammond. The pair captured the seductive track “Turn Me On” during a 2001 session that required only two takes and less than an hour. This R&B-infused soca ballad ignited excitement at the 2001 St. Vincent Carnival and soon reached nearby islands through radio airplay. A management firm subsequently signed Lyttle and distributed copies of “Turn Me On” to disc jockeys across the United States and Europe, discovering that unauthorized versions were already climbing playlists. Atlantic Records licensed the single in 2003, and its official release maintained a position in the U.K. Top Ten for more than ten weeks. In March 2004 the label promoted the song to American stations as worldwide sales neared one million units. That July, the same company issued Lyttle’s self-titled debut album on a global scale.