70s Reggae crooner Yvonne Sterling dies after a musical comeback

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Yvonne Sterling, the Reggae crooner from the 70s that so many people loved has passed away from complications of a stroke on January 18^th, 2021. She was in her early sixties.

Sterling was famous in the 70s for songs like “If You Love Me” Yvonne Sterling – If You Love Me (1974), and “Oh Jah” to name a few. She also recorded with Reggae royalty the Crown Prince himself the late Mr Dennis Emanuel Brown.

Somewhere along the line as fate would have it, Sterling fell from grace and descended into poverty for a number of years.

However, last year after floodwaters almost took her life, her plight was brought to the attention of the world by social media and that’s where fellow entertainers Little Lenny and Richie Stephens stepped up with their generosity and celebrity status to make a difference in Sterling’s life.

Sterling told “Onstage TV” host Winford Williams that she had one daughter who resided in the US, who took good care of her, but unfortunately, she died and things went downhill from there.

She also disclosed to the same TV network that she was never paid for one of her most popular cover songs “If You Love Me” even though it was a massive hit in that era and remains so even today.

When asked by Williams why as a popular artist she had not achieved more, Sterling answered, “I am afraid of the business Winford. I have been in the business since I was fifteen and I have seen a lot of things.”

“A lot of female artists,” she said, “They don’t want to talk and I don’t want to call people’s names. I am afraid. They will kill me. I have done a lot of recordings for people in the business and they rip me off, they don’t give me any money. When I see them I cry. I tell them that I am broke, and they gave me like $500 and you will be very surprised to know the people who have done these things to me.”

One thing that poverty could not take from Sterling in her lifetime was her confidence. Even after her downfall she told a news source, “I am still alive and kicking, I still have my gift that God gave me, and I can sing everything from Gospel, Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Soul to Calypso. I am not just a person with a voice. I have got talent.”

Sterling’s latest song is a remake from the late Reggae icon Bob Marley called “Thank You Lord.” For this one she teamed up with Little Lenny and Richie Stephens, “This song makes me cry, this song moves me, it really moves me.” Sterling was thankful to Little Lenny and Richie Stephens for being instrumental in trying to revive her musical career and for reintroducing her to the world once more.

Yvonne Sterling has touched many lives around the world with her gift of song, and after all she has been through, she was still asking for good will among men in the end. In her case, it is safe to say that when you were made to shine, not even the darkest night can hide you.

RIP Miss Sterling you will be missed by many.