Biography
Born in London in 1956, Hylton relocated with her family to Jamaica in 1959 and went on to study at the Jamaica Commercial Institute. Her initial contact with the record industry occurred through a secretarial post at Total Sounds, yet she soon grew restless with office duties and began splitting her schedule between flights as an Air Jamaica hostess and vocal sessions overseen by Harry J. The 1979 release of her debut single “Don’t Ask My Neighbour” scored a local hit and launched a lasting collaboration. Earlier in the decade Harry J. had produced a version of “Breakfast In Bed” that became an international success for Lorna Bennett; buoyed by Hylton’s strong start, he encouraged her to cut her own rendition, which climbed onto the UK pop chart and eclipsed the earlier hit. In 1980 she returned to the British pop listings with “Bed’s Too Big Without You,” arranged by Sly And Robbie and produced by Harry J. An identical backing track was later issued by Third I Productions in the UK featuring vocals by Julie Roberts. Hylton appeared in the television documentary Deep Roots Music while tracking material in the studio under the watchful eye of her mentor Harry J. The 1983 single “Let’s Dance” registered a modest reggae-chart entry. She departed for the United States in 1984, where she took sporadic work and married. Returning to Jamaica in 1995, she signed with Tommy Cowan’s Talent Corporation and cut a version of Diana Ross And The Supremes’ “My World Is Empty Without You.”
Albums
