The Gaylettes, a trio of young Jamaican singers and former students of Merl Grove High School, have made history as the first coloured entertainers hired by Toronto’s upscale Motor Hotels nightclubs. Beryl Lawson, Joyce Irving, and Dawn Hanchard are winning over Canadian audiences on a three-month contract, with national radio networks recording their original mento and calypso songs. Their manager, Aston McEachron, praised their versatility and said they have brought pride to Jamaica and their families

Published Friday, August 27, 1965 

Gaylettes get scope on Canadian radios

THREE YOUNG JAMAICAN girls, now on a three-month singing and entertainment contract in Toronto, Canada, selling Jamaican songs, have made a lasting impression on the Canadian public.
Three national radio networks are securing recordings of their songs for their radio audience.
The girls, past students of Merl Grove High School, St. Andrew, are Beryl Lawson, Joyce Irving, and Dawn Hanchard. They sing together as the Gaylettes and are currently on a three-month contract with Motor Hotels, operators of some Toronto nightclubs.

Their contract was negotiated by Jamaican-born Mr. Aston McEachron, a long-time resident of Toronto, Canada.

The National Broadcasting Corporation, the Broadcasting System of America, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Service have all been recording Jamaican mentos and calypsos, all written and set to music by the Gaylettes.

They became the first coloured singers or entertainers to be hired in the posh Toronto nightclubs run by Motor Hotels.

“I am very proud of them,” said Mr. McEachron. “They are the most versatile little singers ever seen anywhere, and I am glad they have brought fame to Jamaica, to themselves, and to their parents.”

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