Calypso Carnival - 1936-1941

By the 1930s, calypso had come of age in Trinidad and, through the dissemination of sound recordings, was beginning to influence popu-lar music throughout the English-speaking world. Its roots go back to the late eighteenth century, when French settlers first came to the island, bringing slaves from Haiti, Martinique and Guadaloupe. An Africanized French patois became the language of songs composed for the Carnival season throughout the nineteenth century. As English colonial customs came to dominate the island, that language became the one of choice for calypso around 1900.

Calypso traditionally takes a jaundiced view of life. Though praise is meted out when deserved, calypsonians normally assume a stance somewhere between reporter, editorialist, moralist and satirist. Scandal, disaster, politics, sexual indiscretion, and local to interna-tional events all prove grist for the mill. The calypsonian might turn the spotlight on himself, occasionally (as in Tiger's "Point Cumana") to tell how others got the best of him, but more often (as in the bun-galow songs) to boast of power, possessions, all-around superiority and well deserved good fortune. In the depression-plagued 1930s, these were often imaginary attributes, amounting to an unspoken, communally understood wish for political power and the means to acquire both basics and luxuries from the shops in Port-of-Spain.

Lion, Tiger, Atilla, Executor, Invader and Radio were power names taken by calypsonians as compensation for their status at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. Their songs were primarily written for and addressed to Trinidad's Carnival season, which spanned the weeks between Christmas and Lent, when rehearsals were combined with public performance in calypso tents, while preparations were made for Carnival itself, the three-day festival preceding Ash Wednesday.

Though calypsos had appeared on record sporadically beginning in 1912, it was not until 1934 that island singers began to record regu-larly. That year, Lion and Atilla the Hun were selected to sail to New York to make records of some of the season's Carnival favorites. From then through 1941, each spring marked the occasion for Trinidad singers to go to New York or for recording crews to visit Port-of-Spain. The New York sessions featured the relatively traditional accompaniments of Gerald Clark's Caribbean Serenaders. Island dates employed a variety of bands, from tamboo-bamboo groups to the swing-tinged ensembles of T.A. Codallo and John (Buddy) Williams.

Tracklist:

01. The Lion - Ba Boo La La
02. King Radio - Neighbor
03. Gerald Clark and his Caribbean Serenaders - Si-O-No-valse
04. The Tiger - Bandandea
05. The Growler - High Brown
06. Lionel Belasco and his Orchestra - Depression-pasillo
07. The Lion - I Am Going To Buy A Bungalow
08. Atilla The Hun - I Don't Want No Bungalow
09. Codallo's Top Hatters Orchestra - I Want to Buy A Bungalow
10. The Caresser - John Thomas
11. King Radio - It's the Rhythm We Want
12. Cyril Monroe String Orchestra - Tres Bemoles
13. The Tiger - Marabella Wedding
14. Wilmoth Houdini - Mama, Call the Fire Brigade
15. Harmony Kings' Orchestra - Anything for Love-Tango calypso
16. The Lion - Vitalogy
17. The Lion - It's a Sin to Tell a Lie
18. Lord Invader - Saga Boy's in Town
19. King Radio - John O'Carr
20. Gerald Clark and His Caribbean Serenaders - La Rosa-valse
21. The Growler - In The Dew and The Rain
22. The Tiger - Point Cumana
23. The Lion - Freddo
24. The Lion - Wanga
25. Lord Executor and the Caresser - Old Ginger

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