{"id":2555,"date":"2020-04-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2020-06-12T15:03:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T15:03:15","slug":"ceybil-jefferies-vocalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=2555","title":{"rendered":"Ceybil Jefferies, vocalist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ceybil Jefferies \u2011 also known by the stage name Sweet Sable \u2011 died from COVID-19 in April 2020.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

She was an American house and R&B vocalist best known for her work during the 1990s, including the 1996 Dutch house single, "It's Gonna Be Alright" with Deep Zone, which hit No. 20 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Her other best known singles include "So Special" and "Open Your Heart", both of which reached the top 20 of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 1991. Jefferies, who sometimes went by the stage name Sweet Sable beginning in 1994, often changed the spelling of her name or reinvented it, depending on the release.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Variations of her name included Ceybil, Sable Jefferies, her birthname Sybil Jefferies, and Ceybil Jeffries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Jefferies should not be confused with Sybil, another American R&B and pop singer–songwriter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Born Sybil Jefferies, she was a native of Brooklyn, New York.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

She initially signed with Atlantic Records, which released her debut album, Let Music Take Control in 1991. Two singles from the album, "So Special" and "Open Your Heart", were both top 20 hits on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart that same year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Prior to the release of her sophomore album Open Your Heart, Jefferies left Atlantic Records and signed with Scotti Brothers Records under the new artist name "Sable Jefferies". The first single from the album, "Friends (For Old Time Sake)", was more heavily influenced by the new jack swing genre, rather than her earlier house music work. "Friends (For Old Time Sake)" proved successful by reaching number 15 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 2 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Shortened to "Old Time's Sake", her song was included on the Above the Rim film soundtrack in 1994 under her moniker, Sweet Sable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The album also spawned two other singles, "Tonight" and "Love Thang", which both landed on the Billboard R&B chart. Her single, "Love Than", reached number 1 on the former Billboard Hot Dance Breakdowns chart in 1995, beating out Usher's "Think of You", which peaked at number 2 behind Jefferies' song.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In 1996, she collaborated with Dutch house group Deep Zone to provide vocals for their single, "It's Gonna Be Alright" under her original name, Ceybil Jefferies. "It's Gonna Be Alright" peaked at number 20 on the Dance Club Songs chart. In a review written at the time, Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as "a joyfully optimistic romp merging edgy house beats with keyboards that are, by turns, jazzy and retro-disco. Life in the urban lane has done wonders for Jefferies' voice, which is now far more assured and smooth."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Jefferies continued to record and release music into the 2000s. However, she was diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis, an inflammatory type of sarcoidosis which severely affected her lungs and breathing capacity. Her diagnosis effectively ended her singing career. Additionally, Jefferies lost much of her vision due to the illness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n<\/p>

<\/p>\n \n \n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ceybil Jefferies \u2011 also known by the stage name Sweet Sable \u2011 died from COVID-19 in April 2020.   She was an American house and R&B vocalist best known for her work during the 1990s, including the 1996 Dutch house single, "It's Gonna Be Alright" with Deep Zone, which hit No. 20 on the Billboard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[46,7019,15],"tags":[4035,4036,4037],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/imageholder\/uploads\/Ceybil_Jefferies.png?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3058,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3058","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":0},"title":"Nashom Wooden, artist","date":"March 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Nashom Wooden \u2013an American performing artist \u2013 died due to Covid-19 on March 23, 2020. \u00a0 Wooden was a member of the electronic dance music band The Ones and performed as a drag queen under the stage name Mona Foot. \u00a0 Wooden was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and entered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3317,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3317","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":1},"title":"Alan Merrill, vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, actor & model","date":"March 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Alan Merrill \u2011 an American vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, actor and model \u2013 passed away on March 29, 2020 after contracting Covid-19. \u00a0 In the early 1970s, Merrill was the first Westerner to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the writer of, and lead singer on, the first released\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3969,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=3969","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":2},"title":"John Prine, singer-songwriter","date":"April 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"John Prine, an American country folk singer-songwriter, passed away on April 7, 2020 due to Covid-19. He was active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer from the early 1970s until his death and was known for an often humorous style of original music that has elements of protest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1647,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1647","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":3},"title":"Troy Sneed, gospel musician","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Troy Lenard Sneed Jr. an American gospel musician \u2013 died on April 27, 2020 due to Covid-19 complications. He started his music career on November 7, 1999, with the release of Call Jesus by Malaco Records. His second album, Bless That Wonderful Name, was released by Savoy Records in 2001.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1834,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1834","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":4},"title":"Ren\u00e9e Claude CM, actress & singer","date":"May 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ren\u00e9e Claude CM \u2011 a Canadian actress and singer from Quebec \u2011 died on May 12, 2020 due to COVID-19. She was best known as an interpretive singer, particularly of songs by St\u00e9phane Venne, Michel Conte, Georges Brassens and L\u00e9o Ferr\u00e9. She was born Ren\u00e9e B\u00e9langer, in Montreal. She studied\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Canada"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11592,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=11592","url_meta":{"origin":2555,"position":5},"title":"Paul Johnson, American DJ","date":"August 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Influential Chicago house music DJ Paul Johnson has died at the age of 50 due to COVID-19. According to reports, Johnson, who had a global hit with Get Get Down in 1999 and was named as an influence by Daft Punk, had spent several weeks in hospital. He had been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Profiles"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/American-DJ-Paul-Johnson.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6166,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions\/6166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}