ABOUT 34 years ago, a haunting ballad about a young girl who was in love with a married man took over the local airwaves. The song was
Here I Am.

Recorded by newcomer Chevelle Franklyn, it was produced by Rohan Harrison and sailed to the top of both JBC Radio One Top 30 and RJR Top 40 music charts.

The song introduced a young Chevelle to Jamaicans. The track was recorded when she was 13 years old but, due to its lyrical content, the producer decided it was best to release it when she turned 16 years old.

“I had just left school [Spanish Town Secondary] and I was using a public toilet and I was singing Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All and somebody heard me from the outside and said I know this guy with a song called Here I Am, and you have the perfect voice for it. I was like, okay, because I was no singer. He connected me with Rohan Harrison, and I recorded the song at age 13. When it was released when I turned 15-16, it became a hit household name,” Franklyn recalled during an interview with the Jamaica Observer last Saturday at the 2024 Sterling Gospel Music Awards.

She recalled the first time that she heard Here I Am on the radio and the impact it created within her household at Tawes Pen in Spanish Town.
“I remember exactly where I was when the song was first played on the radio. I was in Tawes Pen and I heard Barry G playing it, and he said sweet singing sensation Chevelle Franklyn with her first song Here I Am. My mother was excited, my siblings were also excited, and I was just dumfounded,” said Franklyn.

Here I Am ranked at #2 on the RJR Top 100 songs of 1990 survey and Franklyn scooped up a handful of awards at industry events later that year.

“So many doors opened for me thanks to that song. It made me a household name in Jamaica, and it helped to build my confidence. At the time, my success helped other up-and-coming artiste, who were struggling to get some attention in the music. It really was a launching pad for me,” Frankly reasoned.

After the success of Here I Am Franklyn scored other hits, among them a cover of
No One In The World, Nice and Naughty, and she had a guest spot on Spragga Benz’s hit song A1 Lover, which was featured on his Capitol Records major label project Uncommonly Smooth.

Later on, Franklyn teamed up with Beenie Man for the theme song from the movie
Dancehall Queen, which spent 10 weeks at #1 locally and also made it onto the Billboard charts.

In 1992 her vocals replaced those of Deborah Glasgow on the Shabba Ranks remixed hit
Mr Lover Man.

Franklyn was signed to Island Jamaica in 1997. In 1996, her debut album Serious Girl was released on the Mesa label, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.
However, two years later, Franklyn walked away from the secular world and started a career in gospel music.

“It was very clear at the time that what I was chasing wasn’t for me. I mean, everybody chases fame and chases money because we all want to be better off in life and to help our families. God somehow brought me around people who had all the fame and the money, but they didn’t have joy, you know, and you can look now and see all that’s happening in the celebrity world and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God.’ So it’s not all that glitters is gold,” Franklyn shared.

“So I was exposed to a lot of that back in the day and I thought, ‘God, I don’t want to lose my soul, so help me.’ And, on top of that, I constantly would hear God telling me that this is not the place that he has for me. He had greater for me and I just trusted Him and just go ahead,” she continued.

Franklyn released her first gospel album, ‘Joy’, in 2001. The albums His Way, Shake it Off and Set Time (released in 2017) later followed. Set Time peaked at #12 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

“I think the highlight of my gospel career is me constantly evolving, constantly growing, and not allowing the stages to allow my head to be swollen, or just to remain humble in God. For me, having longevity is important, I’m now 50 years old and I’ve been singing since I was 16 years old. Just the fact that I’m still here and growing is a highlight for me,’ said Franklyn.

Her most recent album, South Wind Vol 1, was released in August. Recorded in South Africa, she describes the 12-song project which contains praise and worship songs in both English and Zulu, as refreshing.
“It’s refreshing and it’s gonna bless you. I have a collaboration with Pastor Nathaniel Bassey and songs with Ntokozo Mbambo, Dr Tumi and Phil Thompson,” Franklyn explained.
(Jamaica Observer)