Veteran artiste finds breakthrough single

A veteran artiste in every sense of that term, Marcia J Ball gets frustrated at times, being unable to "get a break" in the music business.

That long-awaited break came last week when her song This Man of Mine topped the South Florida Reggae Chart. Ball, who has been singing since age six, is overjoyed.

"It feels amazing and I am giving my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ all the glory. I am on cloud nine right now," she said.

Released in September, This Man of Mine is produced by Trevor Elliott for the Musical Ambassador label, which had several hit singles with Edi Fitzroy during the 1980s. Written by Dwight Oliver, the single is about a woman in a one-sided relationship with an uncommitted man.

"I can relate to it because I was in a very short relationship and I saw the red flags going up, which is my time to exit the relationship. Walking away for some may not be so easy, because at the end of the day, no one wants to be alone, so they put up with the burden," said Ball.

Born in the United Kingdom to Jamaican parents, Ball moved to New York in the 1970s and was a member of Rumbling Express, a show band that included three of her brothers, a sister and an uncle.

A long-time Florida resident, Ball has been a solo artiste since 1990.