World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

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Lorna Bennett

Artist. Reggae

Active
1972-present
Sunrise
1954, Kingston, Jamaica

Lorna Bennett is a singer whose 1972 version of "Breakfast in Bed" was a hit across the Caribbean, and who left music for the law; she is the mother of the singer Protoje.

Born in Kingston, she began singing in nightclubs, where Geoffrey Chung of the Now Generation band heard her and took up her recording career. After a version of "Morning Has Broken" failed to sell, Harry J had Chung record her on "Breakfast in Bed," the Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts song first recorded by Baby Washington. The Harry J single credits Chung as arranger and producer, with Ossie Harvey, and Sid Bucknor as engineer; Mikey Chung and Mikey "Boo" Richards were among the players. Its flip was a deejay version by Scotty, and in Britain Island issued the pair, as "Breakfast in Bed" and "Skank in Bed." By one account it made her the first woman to top the Jamaican chart in five years, and a cover of the Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love" followed it to number one; her album This Is Lorna came out on Harry J the same year. She later recorded Diana Ross's "It's My House" for Sonia Pottinger.

She studied law while she was recording, then gave up music, moved to St. Elizabeth and opened a legal practice. She returned to the stage at the Christmas vintage shows from 2001, and in 2003 gave the eulogy at Scotty's funeral.

Last updated October 21, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. "Lorna Bennett," Wikipedia, accessed October 21, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorna_Bennett, citing Wolfgang Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (2006), and Colin Larkin, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae (1998). On Protoje, see his entry.
  2. "Lorna Bennett," citing Larkin.
  3. "Lorna Bennett - Breakfast In Bed," Discogs, accessed October 21, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/5041655. "Lorna Bennett / Scotty & Lorna Bennett - Breakfast In Bed / Skank In Bed," Discogs, accessed October 21, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/release/3241603. On Mikey Chung and Mikey "Boo" Richards, see their entries. Bradley lists the record among Scotty's hits for Harry J. Lloyd Bradley, This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music (New York: Grove Press, 2001), 299.
  4. "Lorna Bennett," citing Larkin for the chart claims and Heather Augustyn, Women in Jamaican Music (2020), for the Pottinger record. No Jamaican chart archive or press report was found to confirm the number ones.
  5. "Lorna Bennett," citing Larkin and two Gleaner reports of 2003 that are no longer online.

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