Olive Lewin, prominent musicologist who helped preserve Jamaica’s folk traditions, dies at 85

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Olive Lewin, a prominent musicologist and social anthropologist who helped preserve Jamaica’s heritage by recording and researching the island’s rich folk traditions, has died. She was 85.

Daughter Johanna Lewin says she died late Wednesday at a hospital in Kingston. She had recently been struggling with respiratory problems.

Lewin is perhaps best known as the founder of the Jamaican Folk Singers, a group that has performed traditional songs since the 1960s.

Over the decades, Lewin recorded and transcribed a treasure trove of folk songs, stories and traditions from the island. She authored several books on her work, including “Rock it Come Over: The Folk Music of Jamaica.”

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Thursday described Lewin as an “invaluable cultural icon.”