Zeeteah Massiah

Zeeteah Silveta Massiah (born December 24, 1956) is a Barbadian-born British singer particularly associated with reggae, jazz and house music.

Zeeteah Massiah
Born (1956-12-24) December 24, 1956
Saint John, Barbados
OccupationSinger
Years active1980–present
SpousePaul Caplin
Musical career
GenresReggae, Jazz, House
Instrument(s)Vocals
Labels
Websitezeeteah.com

In a wide-ranging career she has recorded and/or toured with artists including Robbie Williams, Tom Jones, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Sting and Leo Sayer.[1] She is best known in the United States as the lead vocalist on the 1993 Billboard No.1 dance hit "Slide on the Rhythm".[2]

Massiah was born in Saint John, Barbados and grew up in London.[1] In 2001 she moved to Germany, and in 2012 returned to England, where she now lives.

Biography

Born in Barbados, Zeeteah moved to London with her parents when she was five years old. Her first name was originally spelled Zeitia.[1] As a teenager she recorded a cover of The Jackson 5's We Got A Good Thing Going in a reggae style for RG Records.[3] She went on to record two more reggae tracks for the label.

In 1984, Massiah appeared for nine months as Chiffon in the hit musical Little Shop of Horrors in London.[4]

She has been an additional vocalist for artists including Barry Manilow and Boy George, and toured with Climie Fisher and Paul Weller.[1] In 1988, she sang with Kim Wilde on the European leg of Michael Jackson's BAD tour and, in 1994/95, toured the world with Tom Jones.[5] She has also toured extensively with Eikichi Yazawa[6] and Johnny Hallyday,[7] among the most successful rock stars in Japan and France respectively.

In 1993, Massiah was the lead vocalist on the Arizona track "Slide on the Rhythm", later remixed by C&C Music Factory, which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Dance Chart in the US. She went on to record "I Specialise in Love" with Arizona, which was a UK chart hit.[8]

On the back of her success with Arizona, Massiah signed a deal with Virgin Records,[5] and released two singles: "Sexual Prime", which was a UK club hit, and "This Is The Place",[5] which charted on the UK Singles Chart.[8] In 1996 she was a UK finalist in the Eurovision Song Contest with "A Little Love".

In 2001, Massiah moved to Cologne, Germany, where she worked with a wide range of musicians, and recorded the single "Lovely Deep". During this time she spent nine months as featured singer in the hit show Fantissima, and spent three months touring Japan with Eikichi Yazawa.[6]

In 2012, she returned to London to be with her partner Paul Caplin, and the two were married in 2016. Massiah performs regularly in London, playing songs composed by Caplin as well as her own interpretations of musical classics. She has released two albums produced by Caplin: Juice (2014), an album of original songs,[9] and Maybe Tomorrow (2016), a collection of classics.[10] The duo also released the single “All You” on 13 July 2018[11] under the name Caplin & Massiah.

On 4 February 2022 Massiah released “Wat A Ting”, the first single from her reggae album of the same name. The album itself was released on 18 November 2022.

Massiah and Caplin are currently working on a new album of Afrobeats-influenced material.

Discography

Singles
  • 1980 "We Got A Good Thing Going"
  • 1980 "A Love Like Yours"
  • 1981 "I'm Still Waiting"
  • 1991 "(Homegirl) Sing The Blues"
  • 1992 "Feel My Love"
  • 1993 "Slide on the Rhythm" – Arizona feat. Zeitia
  • 1994 "This Is The Place"
  • 1994 "Keep It Up" – Sharada House Gang feat. Zeitia Massiah
  • 1994 "I Specialize in Love" – Arizona feat. Zeitia
  • 1996 "Sweet Love" – With It Guys feat. Zeitia
  • 1996 "Sexual Prime"
  • 1997 "You Got It" – Fargetta feat. Zeitia Massiah (five tracks on album)
  • 1997 "Beat of Green" – Fargetta feat. Zeitia Massiah
  • 1998 "Wishing on a Star" – Curtis & Moore presenting Zeitia Massiah (remixed by Mousse T)
  • 1998 "Wishing on a Star Part 2" – Curtis & Moore presenting Zeitia Massiah
  • 1998 "Baby Come Back" – North on 41 feat. Zeitia Massiah
  • 1998 "You Came" – North on 41 feat. Zeitia Massiah
  • 2005 "Lovely Deep"
  • 2014 "Whatever This Is"
  • 2022 "Wat A Ting"

Albums
  • 2013 Live in London
  • 2014 Juice
  • 2016 Maybe Tomorrow

Singles

Albums

See also

References
  1. "Zeeteah Massiah". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. "Billboard article on Arizona". Billboard.com. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. "Discogs page on We Got A Good Thing Going".
  4. Somerville, Matthew. "Little Shop of Horrors", Theatricalia.com. Retrieved 24 October 2022
  5. Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 211. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
  6. "EY style Eikichi Yazawa concert tour 2003". Ameblo.jp. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  7. "Tenues de scene de Johnny Hallyday". Tenues-johnny.fr. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  8. Roberts, David. Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Ltd 17th edition (2004), p. 356. ISBN 0-85112-199-3
  9. "Zeeteah Massiah - Juice (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  10. "Zeeteah Massiah – Maybe Tomorrow (2016, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  11. "Caplin & Massiah release their defiant anti-trump anthem ahead of his UK visit..." Pressparty.com. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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