Acclaimed Jamaican singer Karen Smith has lost her one-year battle with colon cancer.
She died this morning at the Baywest Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, where she was admitted on Tuesday.
Smith was one of Jamaica’s most renowned Carabet singers. She was also a member of the group ‘Pakage’ which also comprised Patricia Edwards and Gem Myers.
Throughout her career, she won nine Jamaica Music Industry Awards, and also shared the stage with other renowned international artistes like Natalie Cole, Seal, Air Supply, Anita Baker, Ray Charles and Harry Belafonte.
In 2006, Smith was recognized with an Order of Distinction for her outstanding contribution to the music industry by the P.J. Patterson administration.
Karen Smith was married to legendary rock steady bassist Jackie Jackson and the couple was inducted into the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival Hall of Fame in June 2001. The couple had one daughter, Courtni.
