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unusual facts about Calypsonian


Calypsonian

Calypso music was developed in Trinidad in the 17th century from the West African Kaiso and canboulay music brought by African slaves imported to that Caribbean island to work on sugar plantations.


Clang of the Yankee Reaper

In particular, it contains several songs by The Mighty Sparrow, and Lord Kitchener, as well as a diverse selection of past and present music in the tradition of the Americas.

Labor Day Carnival

Many Calypso and Soca songs from Trinidad make reference to the Labor Day Carnival, including "Gunplay on the Eastern Parkway" by Calypso Rose, "Melee (on the Eastern Parkway)" by Maestro, and "Labor Day in Brooklyn" by the Mighty Sparrow.

Topical song

However, they may also celebrate the events described, such as the 1936 calypso "FDR in Trinidad" (a.k.a. "Roosevelt in Trinidad") recorded by several artists in Trinidad at the time (probably most famously by a singer who went by the name Atilla) and covered decades later by Ry Cooder, or Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", about the Woodstock Festival.

Winston Simon

The American musician and composer Van Dyke Parks celebrated the life of Winston Simon in the song Tribute to Spree on his album Clang of the Yankee Reaper written and first recorded by Lord Kitchener.


see also