# Nora Dean

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{{about||the member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians|Nora Thompson Dean}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Nora Dean
| image           =
| caption         =
| image_size      =
| birth_name      = Letetia Leonora Dean
| alias           =
| birth_place     = [Spanish Town](/source/Spanish_Town), Jamaica
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1944|1|8|df=y}}
| death_date      = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|2016|09|29|1944|1|8|df=y}}}}
| death_place     = [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut), United States
| instrument      = Vocals
| genre           = [Rocksteady](/source/Rocksteady), [reggae](/source/reggae), [gospel](/source/Gospel_music)
| years_active    = 1969–2006<!-- per http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Nora-Dean-dead-at-72_75853 -->
| label           =
| past_member_of = The Soulettes, The Ebony Sisters
}}

'''Letetia Leonora McLean'''<ref>[http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/obituaries/Letetia-Mclean/#!/Obituary Obituary], hkhfuneralservices.com; accessed 7 October 2016.</ref> (8 January 1944 – 29 September 2016), better known as '''Nora Dean''', was a Jamaican [reggae](/source/reggae) and later gospel singer, best known for her 1970 hit "Barbwire (In His Underpants)". Dean recorded solo and as a member of The Ebony Sisters, The Soul Sisters and The Soulettes.

==Biography==
Born in [Spanish Town](/source/Spanish_Town) on 8 January 1944 to Isolene Ricketts and David Dean,<ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books; {{ISBN|0-87930-655-6}}, pp. 417, 444</ref> Nora Dean recorded as a member of The Soulettes (with [Rita Marley](/source/Rita_Marley)) and The Ebony Sisters before recording as a solo artist. She recorded for [Lee "Scratch" Perry](/source/Lee_%22Scratch%22_Perry), including the 1969 single "The Same Thing That You Gave to Daddy".<ref name="Thompson"/> Dean had her first hit in 1970 for producer Byron Smith with "Barbwire", based on [The Techniques](/source/The_Techniques)' "You Don't Care".<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books; {{ISBN|0-7535-0242-9}}, p. 74</ref>

She enjoyed further success with "Night Food Reggae".<ref name="Larkin"/> She went on to record for [Sonia Pottinger](/source/Sonia_Pottinger), [Harry Mudie](/source/Harry_Mudie) ("Let Me Tell You Boy"), and [Bunny Lee](/source/Bunny_Lee), including a version of "[Que Sera Sera](/source/Que_Sera%2C_Sera_(Whatever_Will_Be%2C_Will_Be))", retitled "Kay Sarah".<ref name="Larkin"/> She contributed backing vocals to [Jimmy Cliff](/source/Jimmy_Cliff)'s 1973 album ''Unlimited''.<ref name="Jackson"/>

Dean moved to [New York City](/source/New_York_City) in the mid-1970s, where she married. After several years away from music she returned in the 1980s, singing in a [lovers rock](/source/lovers_rock) style.<ref name="Larkin"/> In the 1990s she began recording again, now concentrating on [gospel music](/source/gospel_music), releasing several albums in the years that followed.

Dean moved to [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut) in 2010, where she died on 29 September 2016, aged 72.<ref name="Jackson">Jackson, Kevin (2016) "[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Nora-Dean-dead-at-72_75853 Nora Dean Dead at 72]", ''[Jamaica Observer](/source/Jamaica_Observer)'', 2 October 2016; retrieved 6 October 2016.</ref>

==Discography==
*''Play Me a Love Song'' (1981), Nationwide
*''My Soul Loves Jesus'' (1996), Aquarius
*''Melody of Praise'' (1998), Aquarius
*''Down on My Knees'' (1999), Faith Gospel Recording Ministry
*''The Love of God - Reach Down to Me'' (2000), Faith Gospel Records Productions
*''Breakthrough'' (2003), Evangelist
*''Merry Christmas'' (2004)
*''At Calvary'' (2006)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{discogs artist}}
*{{allMusic|artist/nora-dean-mn0000884676}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Nora}}
Category:1944 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:20th-century Jamaican women singers
Category:21st-century Jamaican women singers
Category:People from Spanish Town
Category:Musicians from Saint Catherine Parish
Category:Jamaican reggae singers
Category:Jamaican gospel singers
Category:Place of death missing

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nora Dean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Dean) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Dean?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.