Calypso achieved popularity with the arrival of calypso tents in Port-of-Spain, particularly from the first commercial recordings in the 1930s, and from the spread of the tents after World War Two ended in 1945. In short order the form became party music as well as a means of communicating and interpreting political events, and a daily news source for many islanders, and the contribution of Trinidad to this form hasn’t been as widely acknowledged as it should have been. With its explosive Carnival, a cauldron of music and costumes, Trinidad was simply the engine for the calypso art form; their particular insouciance and distinctive verve produced an array of writers and performers who have inspired many, including me, over the years. Some of these early artistes – Spoiler, Beginner, Executor, Lord Radio – were simply geniuses, forging new paths, and drawing on the well-known Trini abrasive humour that tackled every subject under the sun – not just partying and hugging up as is the case today – and later writers like Sparrow and Kitch and Rudder, and the Barbadian Gabby, and the Antiguans Short Shirt and Swallow, would widen the appeal and the structures of the music, adding complexity and new directions along the way.
The first calypso to