Calypso Breakaway - 1927-1941

If calypso's focus on issues, events and scandals is not unique, English-language popular song offers nothing else quite like it. Blues and country music share calypso's view of the world from a working-class perspective. Jamaica's reggae singers like to recount skirmishes between the haves and have-nots, in part due to the affinity Jamaicans have had for calypso in the past. But, for eloquence and topical diversity, no other genre can approach the songs of Trinidad.

Calypso's roots are deep; verses in French patois survive, attributed to one Gros-Jean, a slave who accompanied the first French-speaking settlers on the island before 1800. Patois kalindas were routinely heard during the stick-fighting competitions which were a hallmark of the jamette (underclass)carnival season after slavery was abolished in the 1830s. At the turn of this century, calypso acquired its name as English began to replace patois for composing purposes. New songs designed for performance adopted a more elegant eight-line verse structure. At their best, these ballades (as Lion has dubbed them) allowed for greater eloquence and thematic development nevertheless, kalinda never lost its appeal; its concise quatrains and choruses have maintained a place in calypso, even though stick-fighting has all but disappeared from carnival except in mime.

By the 1930s, when most of these selections were recorded, the best calypsonians were creating material which combined sophisticated texts with thoughtful content appropriate to the times. Lingering effects of the depression and an outmoded economic system were leading to severe labor and social unrest—see "Where Was Butler?" (Folk-Lyric 9048) for calypsos dealing with the consequences. Affairs on the international front were bringing the world closer together even as they were leading to war. A turbulent social and political climate provided useful grist for calypso's mill: international and internal events, governmental and sexual politics were added to the traditional mix of carnival themes, scandal and first- and third-person accounts of calypsonians themselves as elements in a complex fabric of song.

Calypsos were sporadically available on record as early as 1912 but it wasn't until 1934 that new songs from each carnival season could be regularly heard outside Trinidad. By 1940, recorded calypsos had found their way to America, England and even South Africa, as the catchy lyrics, intriguing subject matter and infectious creole rhythms earned the music an ever-widening audience. Calypso became especially prominent after the Andrews Sisters enjoyed one of the biggest hits of their long career with Lord Invader's "Rum and Coca-Cola" in 1944. By the following year, resident New York performers like the Duke of Iron, Sir Lancelot and Macbeth the Great could be heard at fashionable clubs; even Atilla and the Lion enjoyed an extended 1945 engagement at the Village Vanguard.

In the fifties, folk singer Harry Belafonte initiated a new wave of interest in island songs during the first years of the folk revival. Calypso today still enjoys an international, if lower profile, following. Sparrow, Chalkdust and other veterans of the contemporary scene still perform controversial and appealing songs, dwelling on many of the same aspects of life which engaged their forebears in this collection over fifty years ago.

Tracklist:

01. Keskidee Trio - Don't Le' Me Mother Know
02. King Radio - Ma Maria
03. Felix And His Krazy Kats - Bei Mir Du Schoen
04. The Growler - An Excursion to Grenada
05. The Lion - TIna
06. Lord Executor - Seven Skeletons Found In the Yard
07. Al Philip Iere Syncapotors - Little Gal Mother is Calling You
08. The Tiger - Maraval Girls
09. Lord Beginner - Anacaona
10. Atilla the Hun - Dynamite
11. Lord Invader - Caro at Point Cumana
12. Lionel Belasco's Orchestra - Violets Venezuelan Waltz
13. The Lion & Atilla the Hun - Guests off Rudy Vallee
14. Lord Executor - How I Spent My Time At the Hospital
15. King Radio - Old Men Come Back Again
16. Wilmouth Houidini & His Caribbean Orchestra - Johnnie Tak My Wife
17. The Caresser - The More They Try to Do Me Bad
18. The Lion - Love Thy Neighbor
19. Codallo's Top Hatters Orchestra - Tropical Heat-paseo
20. The Tiger - The Whe Whe Banker Wedding

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