Dawn Penn

Dawn Penn

Dawn Penn was born in Kingston Jamaica in 1952. She studied classical piano and violin as a child and whilst still at school began recording with Coxsone Dodd at Studio One producing hits like You Don t Love Me and To Sir with Love. In 1970 she moved to Tortola in the Virgin Islands to raise her children returning in 1987 to the studio and was initially unwilling to sing over dancehall rythmns. She re-recorded her debut single for Steely And Clevie as well as for King Jammy. The Jammy produced version, ‘No, No, No (World A Respect)’ featured her solo vocal cut as well as the more popular dancehall version employing the vocal skills of Dennis Brown, Ken Boothe and Beenie Man. Whilst King Jammy’s recording proved a dancehall smash the Steely And Clevie version crossed over into mainstream pop charts. The single entered the UK Top 10 in June 1994 for 12 weeks peaking at number three.