Born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, Nora Dean recorded as a member of The Soulettes (with Rita Marley) and The Ebony Sisters before recording as a solo artist. She recorded for Lee "Scratch" Perry, including the 1969 single "The Same Thing That You Gave to Daddy". Dean had her first hit in 1970 for producer Byron Smith with "Barbwire", based on The Techniques' "You Don't Care". She enjoyed further success with "Night Food Reggae". She went on to record for Sonia Pottinger, Harry Mudie ("Let Me Tell You Boy"), and Bunny Lee, including a version of "Que Sera Sera", retitled "Kay Sarah". She contributed backing vocals to Jimmy Cliff's 1973 album Unlimited. Dean moved to 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 style. In the 1990s she began recording again, now concentrating on gospel music, releasing several albums in the years that followed.
Dean moved to Connecticut in 2010, and died there on 29 September 2016, aged 72.
Nora Dean is one of reggae’s greatest mysteries. She sang solo as well as being a member of The Ebony Sisters, The Soul Sisters and The Soulettes. She did backing vocals on some recordings by Jimmy Cliff. Although she was not a prolific artist (especially by reggae standards), a number of her songs are very fondly remembered by fans of Jamaican music as true reggae classics. This is because Nora Dean brought something extra to her best songs, making them unusual and endlessly enjoyable. And yet, there is little biographical information about her anywhere. No interviews with her have ever been published. Photos seemed to be non-existent. Go through every reggae book, documentary, and liner note of the dozens of compilations her classic tracks appear on; you’ll learn that Nora Dean was born in 1952, and nothing more. Google until the search results are exhausted and, all you’ll learn is how many people share her name.
Somehow, the mystery is fitting for such an unusual singer.
Nora Dean is one of reggae’s best female vocalists. Listening to her music, it is immediately apparent that she has a great Jamaican voice. What might be slightly less obvious are the rich depths of her singing. This is what makes many of her recordings so special. An unexpected turn of melody, a well placed use of sounds instead of words, an emotional intensity and complexity that is very expressive. These are the hallmarks of the Nora Dean sound. Her songs are made all the more memorable by recording with some of Jamaica’s best producers, musicians and riddims. Oh, and there's also the sex. In all of her most memorable songs, there is sexuality. Each song presents a very different, unusual situation and the sexuality is always surprising. There's not a conventional love song in the bunch.
In “Barbwire” she plays babyishly naïve about a man’s advances. In “Mojo Girl”, she is serenely in full control. She lays down the law to her man, threatening him with black magic reprisals. In “Wreck A Buddy”, she is in desperate carnal need, with explicit lyrics to the melody of “Little Drummer Boy”. In “The Same Thing You Gave To Daddy”, she is in a battle of wills with her little boy, who won't go to sleep until he gets what Nora gave his daddy the night before. “Oh, no, no, no”, indeed! And in “Ay Ay Ay”, the music is deconstructed from reggae to a drone. Narrative is abandoned in favor of free association, and words become invocations that are supplemented with kisses, bird cries and groans of pure ecstasy.
But to be fair to the artist, Nora Dean would argue the point. She is a religious, righteous woman, who was born again in the late 1981. Some of her songs, she explained in early 2006, thought to be sexual in nature are actually misunderstood. In some cases, as a young girl she was pressured by producers to act outside of her character. (She was only about 15 when she started recording.) And at least one scandalous song, a cover of the mento song Night Food, Nora insists she did not record. She is upset that her name was affixed to a song she finds so repugnant.
The lyrical content aside, what is universally accepted is superb vocals and the enormous contribution that Nora Dean made to reggae music.
From www.noradean.com
The Valet
Nora Dean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is valet ah selling to make a shilling
That is my occupation, to be a valet woman
Ah selling meh valet with the same song
If you hear me:
Ah'm valet, valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
Meh going all over, East, West, North or South
Over the college, meh have meh privilege
Ah have all kind of paper
Aren't you buying so and so from [???]
Ah pushing meh cart all through the way
[???] singing the same refrain
If you hear me:
Ah'm valet, valet mama
What a pretty valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
All Sunday and Monday are public holiday
Ah'm selling meh palet, meh no have no limit
Any kind that you want meh
You can choose a palet from all around
I don't care if my business [???]
Ah'm selling palet if ah'm given choice
If you hear me:
Ah'm valet, valet mama
What a pretty valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
What a pretty valet mama
In Nora Dean's song "The Valet," the singer is a woman who works as a valet, selling her wares to make a living. She proudly declares that her occupation is to sell valet, and she does so with the same song and refrain every time, "Ah'm valet, valet mama. What a pretty valet mama. Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-lee!" The valet woman travels all over, from East to West, North to South, and she has the privilege of selling her valet outside of colleges and universities.
The woman doesn't discriminate when it comes to selling her valet, emphasizing that she has "all kinds of paper" and that buyers can choose "a palet from all around." Although she sings that she doesn't care if her business thrives or not, stating that she'll "sell palet if [she's] given choice," the repetition and energy in her refrain suggest otherwise. The singer is proud of her job as a valet seller, and she sings with enthusiasm and pride to entice potential buyers.
Line by Line Meaning
Is valet ah selling for meh living
I am making a living by selling valets
Is valet ah selling to make a shilling
I am selling valets to earn a living
That is my occupation, to be a valet woman
Being a valet woman is my profession
Ah selling meh valet with the same song
I am singing the same song to sell my valets
Ah'm valet, valet mama
I am selling valets, mama
What a pretty valet mama
My valets are attractive
Va-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-leeet!
I am singing a catchy refrain
Meh going all over, East, West, North or South
I am traveling far and wide
Over the college, meh have meh privilege
I have permission to sell near the college
Ah have all kind of paper
I have different types of valets to sell
Aren't you buying so and so from [???]
Wouldn't you like to buy such and such valet from me?
Ah pushing meh cart all through the way
I am pushing my cart along the path
[???] singing the same refrain
I am singing the same catchy refrain
All Sunday and Monday are public holiday
I work on Sundays and Mondays as they are public holidays
Ah'm selling meh palet, meh no have no limit
I sell my valets without any restriction
Any kind that you want meh
I have valets of all types
You can choose a palet from all around
You can select a valet from a wide range
I don't care if my business [???]
I am not bothered if my business is slow
Ah'm selling palet if ah'm given choice
I will sell my valets if given a chance
Writer(s): Sonia Pottinger
Contributed by James W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
muitan
Words cant describe how great this is!
Danny Fitzgerald
This is a cover of Calypso Rose's song "Palet" (1968). Not sure why they called it "Valet" for this release, because Nora audibly is singing the original lyrics - "Pa-lay". A palet or palette in Trinidad is a cold treat similar to what they call an "ice lolly" in the UK or "popsicle" in the USA. The lyrics are pretty clearly double entendre for another type of street vendor...
Mário
This is a big one!