Marcia Aitken

{{Use British English|date=January 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = Marcia Aitken | image = | caption = | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = c. 1956 | birth_place = Hannah Town, Kingston, Jamaica | death_date = | death_place = | origin = | instrument = Vocals | genre = Lovers rock, gospel reggae | occupation = | years_active = 1975–1981, 2014–present | label = Joe Gibbs | website = }}

'''Marcia Aitken''' (born c. 1956, Hannah Town, West Kingston, Jamaica)<ref name="Jackson3" /> is a Jamaican reggae singer best known for her recordings in the late 1970s, produced by Joe Gibbs along with Errol Thompson.<ref name="Moskowitz">Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, {{ISBN|0-313-33158-8}}, p.7</ref>

==Biography== Aitken's break into the music industry came while she was still a student at Excelsior High School - in her own words: "I was singing at a school concert, and Lloyd Parks and the We the People Band was backing us. They said they liked the sound of my voice, and I became a member of the band after that. Then I began to do recordings for Joe Gibbs".<ref name="Jackson3" /> She concentrated on lovers rock and recorded a popular version of the Alton Ellis song "I'm Still in Love With You" (as "I'm Still in Love with You Boy", recorded while still at Excelsior),<ref name="Jackson">Jackson, Kevin (2003) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20031120T210000-0500_51900_OBS_CAN_I_M_STILL_IN_LOVE_WITH_YOU_SCORE_AGAIN_.asp Can I'm Still In Love With You score again?]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", ''Jamaica Observer'', 21 November 2003</ref> which was a number one hit in Jamaica and successful UK and US reggae charts,<ref name="Jackson" /> and also formed the basis of Trinity's "Three Piece Suit" and Althea & Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking". She had another Jamaican number one single in 1978 with "My Man", a combination record with Trinity.<ref name="Jackson2">Jackson, Kevin (2003) "[https://archive.today/20070513102312/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20030925t210000-0500_49510_obs_male_female_number_one_songs.asp Male/female number one songs]", ''Jamaica Observer'', 26 September 2003</ref> She also recorded songs by Ansel Cridland of The Meditations, including "Narrow Minded Man", a response to The Meditations' chauvinistic "Woman is Like a Shadow".<ref name="Moskowitz" /><ref name="Walker">Walker, Klive (2005) ''Dubwise: Reasoning from the Reggae Underground'', Insomniac Press, {{ISBN|978-1-894663-96-0}}, p.7</ref> Aitken recorded a single album, ''Reggae Impact'', produced by Gibbs and Willie Lindo.

After completing high school in 1981, Aitken retired from music and moved to Brooklyn, where she opened the Norstrand Eatery with her husband in 1985.<ref name="Jackson3">Jackson, Kevin (2003) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/throb/html/20030110t200000-0500_37883_obs_marcia_aitken_s_still_in_love_with_music.asp Marcia Aitken's still in love with music] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117041206/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Throb/html/20030110T200000-0500_37883_OBS_MARCIA_AITKEN_S_STILL_IN_LOVE_WITH_MUSIC.asp |date=17 January 2006 }}", ''Jamaica Observer'', 11 January 2003</ref> In the 2000s she studied for a degree in business management. She subsequently moved into nursing for over twenty years.<ref name="Lyew">Lyew, Stephanie (2018) "[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20181111/nursing-grounded-me-pitfalls-entertainment-marcia-aitken-returns 'Nursing Grounded Me From The Pitfalls Of Entertainment' - Marcia Aitken Returns To Music]", ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 11 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018</ref>

Aitken returned to recording with the 2014 album ''Conception to Redemption'', which featured gospel versions of some of her earlier songs.<ref name="Lyew" />

==Discography== ===Albums=== *''Reggae Impact'' (1981) Joe Gibbs *''Conception to Redemption'' (2014)

===Singles=== *"Narrow Minded Man" (1975) Belmont *"I'm Still in Love with You Boy" (1977) Belmont JA #1 *"Blouse and Skirt" (with Trinity) *"My Man" (1978) (with Trinity) JA #1 *"Closer I Get to You" (1979) Joe Gibbs (with Ruddy Thomas) *"Danger in Your Eyes" (1979) Joe Gibbs

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Marcia}} Category:1950s births Category:Living people Category:Jamaican reggae singers Category:20th-century Jamaican women singers Category:Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Lovers rock musicians Category:Year of birth missing (living people)