British born to a Jamaican father and British mother, J.C. Lodge was taken to Jamaica as a child. There, the Beatles fan soon became immersed in R&B and reggae, and sang along to everything she heard.

Toward the end of high school, a relationship with Errol O'Meally led her further along her music path. He was a budding songwriter, and used her voice to present some of his material to Joe Gibbs' Recording Studio. Both the songs and the singer were well received, and J.C. was asked to cover Charley Pride's "Someone Loves You, Honey" in 1980. The reggae version of the country and western tune topped the Jamaican charts, and earned the singer gold and platinum discs in the Netherlands. While the record was a big hit, it bankrupted Gibbs as he had failed to pay royalties to the songwriter. An album of the same name, featuring the deejay talents of Prince Mohamed was released in 1982.