There were several reasons I launched Respected LadyLand Radio Show. One of the biggest was to devote time towards researching women who worked behind the scenes in the music industry as songwriters, producers, record label owners, etc. With a handful of exceptions, those are the women who's stories largely got left behind or left out of the history of the recording industry.
The research process is a journey. One piece of information leads to another, or in this case, it's usually one song leads to another. It's a matter of paying attention to the details, particularly songwriting and production credits.
At the beginning of this radio project I declared that I would let the music lead this expedition, and I will follow. I'm pleased to report that along the way I've found MANY prolific and successful women songwriters. I'm really looking forward to digging further into their catalogs! Unfortunately, I have NOT found as many women producers from the mid-20th century. I was expecting to find more than I have.
Another unexpected roadblock for me in this process has been language barriers. I intended to really stretch out into learning about women musicians globally. I have done that, but it's a lot harder than I expected. I'm sticking to it, but it's probably not going to be as prevalent on the program as I was anticipating.
Today for the first time, Respected LadyLand is spotlighting a woman producer from outside of the USA. I feel incredibly grateful to have found out about Sonia Pottinger, trailblazing Jamaican producer who launched her own record labels beginning in 1966.
I would define myself as a casual fan of Jamaican music. But even as a casual listener, the first thing I learned about Jamaican music is that it's extremely producer-centric. That's why I can easily list several classic-era producers like Duke Reid, Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Clancy Eccles, Coxone Dodds, Joe Gibbs, and Leslie Kong. As you may notice, they are all men.
Sonia Pottigner was a contemporary of these men, putting out work and significantly contributing to the development of the music and the record industry. She SHOULD be listed alongside the legends I named above, yet somehow her name gets left out of the history UNLESS you're specifically looking for it. That's a problem. Women deserve acknowledgement and appreciation for their creative contributions.
That's why I'm sticking to this project even though it's difficult and certainly not lucrative. It needs to be done so that this information can be more easily accessed and readily known. I hope you'll help spread the word. Thank you for your support.
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