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Who Is The King Of Calypso ?

So Trini's let's hear it from you. Who would say is the King of Calypso ? If I left it up to my brother in law. He would quickly say The Mighty Sparrow. Me personally , I don't have an answer. I just started listening to Calypso and Soca a few years ago. But before I go , who sings this old Calypso song called Loraine. The lyrics talk about a girl name Loraine. And how Brooklyn is too cold for him and he wants to return to Trinidad. I heard this song once and I loved it. I think every Trini can relate to that song. But I never found out who sings this song. Can anyone help me out ?

Edited: darius on 22nd May, 2004 - 7:09am

Calypso King The Who

Although not a fan of Calypso I used to like 'Shadow' growing up in school. Most people will say that Sparrow and Kitchener are the best ever.

Who Is The King Of Calypso ? Sports & Fashion Music Movies

Yes these are the two names I always hear come up. (Sparrow & Kitchener) Now J.B. correct me if I'm wrong , but wasn't Sparrow born in Grenada and later moved to Trinidad ? Also Trinidad are the originators of Calypso , Soca , and the steel drum ? I remember when I first met my wife and she heard me say steel drums are from Jamaica. Yeah I know , that's one way of making a Trini mad. But all this time I thought Jamaica invented that.

Calypso King The Who

Yes, he was born in Grenada, but Trinidadians see him as one of their own.

Mighty Sparrow (real name Slinger Francisco) is a Calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was born in Grenada on July 9, 1935, but moved to Trinidad at a young age. In 1956, he won that year's Carnival Road March Competition with his most famous song, "Jean and Dinah." His prize was $40, and in protest of the small sum, he wrote "Carnival Boycott" the following year, a song which spoke out against Trinidad's carnival industry. Sparrow refused to participate in the Carnival Road March for the next three years, but still became one of the Caribbean's most successful artists.
Ref. https://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Mighty-Sparrow

As for the other instruments and music styles - yes, all came from Trinidad & Tobago

The roots of calypso lie in Trinidad, where it grew out of a fusion of African and European influences. The arrival in the late 18th century of French planters and their pre-Lenten carnival traditions coincides with the earliest surviving references to mocking, bawdy songs by Chantwells.

The word "calypso" is quite recent, dating from around 1900, when English became more widely used in the songs though in the 1880s there were complaints about "the abominable dance called Calypso"& Older versions of the name (used for both music and dance styles) were caliso, cariso and kaiso. Some writers believe "kaiso" is derived from an African (Hausa) word meaning "Bravo!"
Ref. https://www.socanews.com/editorial/facts/calypso.shtml

Calypso King The Who

I see you were reading my mind. I didn't know if Trini's took him in as thier own. I guess they don't have a choice , he's done so much for the music. So your telling me all he got for winning Road March was $40. But then again back in those days $40 probably went a long ways. How much can someone earn for winning Road March now ?

Who Is The King Of Calypso ?

I am not into this kind of music, but I do know the prizes are in the 10s of thousands and some concerts have a payout of $30,000 US as in the example of the group called, 'Xtatic'.

Who The King Calypso

In my humble opinion (yes, a foreigner's opinion ) Kitchener was and will always be the King of Calypso, this style of music have changed so much from the oldies to now, I definetly enjoy the old Calypsonians than the new ones.