Pam Hall

Throughout numerous studio sessions across Jamaica, Hall contributed backing vocals, frequently teaming with her brother Raymond. Her family’s deep ties to the industry extend to sister Audrey Hall, whose recording career began in the late 1960s and reached its commercial peak during the 1980s through crossover success alongside Donovan Germain. In 1976 Hall stepped forward as a lead artist for the first time on the Tinga Stewart duet “You Should Never Do That.” Recognition arrived a decade later when “Dear Boopsie” topped the reggae chart in 1986, crossed into mainstream radio, and spent four weeks inside the lower reaches of the UK Top 50. She followed that breakthrough with “How Glad I Am,” cut with producer Danny Browne at Music Mountain, yet sustained promotion failed to repeat the earlier momentum. Errol Wilson handled both sides and has stayed on as her manager and producer ever since. Her first album, Perfidia, borrowed its name from the Phylis Dillon standard. Even while chasing solo opportunities, Hall continued supplying harmonies for Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, and Gussie Clarke. After a stretch out of the spotlight she resurfaced in 1994 with “Missing You Baby.” Next came her reading of “I Will Always Love You,” prompted by Whitney Houston’s blockbuster take on the Dolly Parton original; recorded for Joe Frasier, the track led the reggae chart and was succeeded by the equally popular “Young Hearts Run Free.” Although already an able deejay, Hall teamed with General Degree on the 1995 combination “Lonely Days,” whose rhythm and title later anchored a Nardo Ranks hit. Her version of Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” delivered another major solo success, reigning over the reggae listings in the early summer of 1996. She has remained active onstage, filling in for Judy Mowatt with the I-Threes and appearing alongside Toots Hibbert and Ziggy Marley. Ziggy’s participation in the Fugees’ “No Woman No Cry” led to her providing backing vocals on the accompanying Ziggy Marley remix. In 1996 she joined the wave of reggae acts working in Japan, issuing the album Magic that paired her local hits with a cover of Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart.” Early the following year the leading U.S. reggae distributor gave the project a major push by releasing her second compilation on the label.