Calypso music

It is thought that the name "calypso" was originally "kaiso" which is now believed to come from Efik "ka isu" ("go on!") and Ibibio "kaa iso" ("continue, go on"), used in urging someone on or in backing a contestant.[1] There is also a Trinidadian term "cariso" that means "old-time" calypsos.[2] The term "calypso" is recorded from the 1930s onwards. Alternatively, the insert for The Rough Guide to Calypso and Soca (published by World Music Network) favours John Cowley's arguments in Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making, that the word might be a corruption of the French carrouseaux and through the process of patois and Anglicization became caliso and then finally "calypso"; however, Cowley also notes that the first mention of the word "calypso" is given in a description of a dance in 1882 by Abbé Masse.[3]

Calypso music was developed in Trinidad in the 17th century from the West African Kaiso and canboulay music brought by African slaves imported to the Caribbean islands to work on sugar plantations.[4] The slaves, brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family and not allowed to talk to each other. They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. Many early calypsos were sung in French Creole by an individual called a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a chantuelle and eventually, calypsonian.

Modern calypso, however, began in the 19th century, a fusion of disparate elements ranging from the masquerade song lavway, French Creole belair and the calinda stick-fighting chantwell. Calypso's early rise was closely connected with the adoption of Carnival by Trinidadian slaves, including canboulay drumming and the music masquerade processions. The French brought Carnival to Trinidad, and calypso competitions at Carnival grew in popularity, especially after the abolition of slavery in 1834.

The first major stars of calypso started crossing over to new audiences worldwide in the late 1930s. Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion and Lord Invader were first, followed by Lord Kitchener, one of the longest-lasting calypso stars in history—he continued to release hit records until his death in 2000. 1944's "Rum and Coca-Cola" by the Andrews Sisters, a cover version of a Lord Invader song, became an American hit despite the song being a very critical commentary on the explosion of prostitution, inflation and other negative influences accompanying the American military bases in Trinidad at the time.[6] Perhaps the most straightforward way to describe the focus of calypso is that it articulated itself as a form of protest against the authoritarian colonial culture which existed at the time.

In 1956 Mighty Sparrow won Trinida's Music contest. Calypso, especially a toned-down, commercial variant, became a worldwide craze with pop song "Banana Boat Song", or "Day-O", a traditional Jamaican folk song, was recorded by pop singer Harry Belafonte on his album Calypso(1956). Calypsoalbum was the first calypso record to sell more than a million copies. 1956 also saw the massive international hit "Jean and Dinah" by Mighty Sparrow.[7] This song too was a sly commentary as a "plan of action" for the calypsonian on the widespread prostitution and the prostitutes' desperation after the closing of the U.S. naval base on Trinidad at Chaguaramas.

In the Broadway-theatre musical Jamaica (1957), Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg cleverly parodied "commercial" Belafonte-style calypso. Several films jumped on the calypso craze in 1957 such as Island in the Sun (20th Century Fox) that featured Belafonte and the low-budget films Calypso Joe (Allied Artists), Calypso Heat Wave (Columbia Pictures), and Bop Girl Goes Calypso (United Artists). Robert Mitchum released an album, Calypso...Is Like So (1957), on Capitol records, capturing the sound, spirit, and subtleties of the genre. Dizzy Gillespie recorded a calypso album Jambo Caribe (1964) with James Moody and Kenny Barron.

Soul shouter Gary "US" Bonds released a calypso album Twist up Calypso (1962) on Legrand records, shortly after returning home from his military post in Port of Spain. Nithi Kanagaratnam from Sri Lanka sang calypso-styled songs in Tamil in 1968, which was a success and earned him the title "Father of Tamil Popular Music". Since Baila rhythm was popular in Sri Lanka, most of his songs were classified as Tamil Baila.

In the mid-1970s, women entered the calypso men's-oriented arena. Calypso Rose was the first woman to win the Trinidad Road March competition in 1977 with her song "Gimme More Tempo". The following year with "Come Leh We Jam", she won the "Calypso King " competition, the first time a woman had received the award. The competition's title was changed to Calypso Monarch in her honour. The French and pioneer electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre released an album in 1990 called Waiting for Cousteau. The album has four tracks: "Calypso", "Calypso part 2", "Calypso part 3 Fin de Siècle" and "Waiting for Cousteau". It was dedicated to Jacques-Yves Cousteau in his 80th birthday. This album had a special participation of the Amocco Renegades (a traditional steel-drum band from Trinidad and Tobago). In the first track is possible to notice a strong style influence. Calypso had another short burst of commercial interest when Tim Burton's horror/comedy film Beetlejuice (1988) was released, and used Belafonte's "Jump In The Line" as the soundtrack's headliner and also "The Banana Boat Song" in the dinner-party scene. Disney's song "Under the Sea", a calypso theme from The Little Mermaid won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1989 as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media in 1991.

Calypso music has been used by Calypsonians to provide sociopolitical commentary. Prior to the independence of Trinidad and Tobago, calypsonians would use their music to express the daily struggles of living in Trinidad, critique racial and economic inequalities, express opinions on social order, and voice overall concerns for those living on the island.[8] The Black lower class in particular used calypso music to protest inequalities inflicted upon them under British rule and advocate for their rights. In response, calypso music came to exist as a form of musical protest.

During the independence movements of Trinidad and Tobago through the earlys 1950s up until 1962 when the nation gained independence, calypso lyrics critiqued British colonial rule. Lyrics were made to express feelings towards colonialism as being immoral and oppressive to Caribbean people. In particular, during the movement to independence, calypso music would include common messages of freedom, anti-colonialism and empowerment of African descended people.[1]

Neville Marcano, known as the Growling Tiger, became notorious for creating songs calling for independence of Trinidad and Tobago. In his song titled “Abraham Lincoln Speech at Gettysburg”, Tiger used inspirations from Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg address to draw on values of liberty, equality and democracy.[1] These three principles paralleled some of many ideas circulating during the nationalist movement in Trinidad and Tobago. His lyrics struck with those in support of an independent Trinidadian nation hoping to instill similar principles in their own free nation.

Lord Kitchener, a largely known Calypsonian, became noted for his politically critical lyrics in his music. Kitchener used calypso to shed light on the grievances of the windrush generation, a generation of Caribbean families migrating from the islands to England in response to increased labor demands after World War II.[9] Kitchener’s 1948 song “Windrush” was written in two versions. The first version gained more global popularity as the lyrics expressed gratitude and appreciation of British rule. However, second version found greater popularity amongst Caribbean people themselves as the lyrics conveyed a story of exile, oppression and inequality living in England.[1] Although Kitchener’s alternate version of “Windrush” did not gain as much commercial popularity, the duality of the two versions exemplify how calypso music was used as an outlet to challenge colonialism.

After Trinidad and Tobago gained independence in 1962, calypso music continued to be used as an outlet for political commentary. With Eric Williams serving as the first Prime Minister of an independent Trinidad and Tobago, calypsonian Mighty Sparrow released his song “William the Conqueror” where he praises Williams’ victory and prides the island in its new found independence.[3] Sparrow sings:

I am no politician, but I could understand if it wasn’t for Brother Willie and his ability, Trinidad wouldn’t go neither come. We used to vote for food and rum but nowadays we eating all the Indians and them. And in the ending, we voting PNM. Praise little Eric, rejoice and be glad. We have a better future here in Trinidad.[3]

Calypso music has also been used by politicians to promote political agendas through Calypso competitions. The origins of calypso competitions dates back to the early 19th century post emancipation where formerly enslaved communities would hold calypso wars showcasing their singing and dancing.[5] Later in 1953 Calypso competitions held the same showcasing nature, but became politicized as the People’s National Movement (PNM) took over as the main organizer of competitions.[8] The PNM used the competitions to combat social and class divisions by attracting participants of varying social status to participate and attend the competitions. The idea was to claim a national cultural identity and promote national unity.

• Cadence-lypso
• Canboulay
• Calypso Monarch
• Extempo
• Soukous
• Marrabenta
• List of calypso musicians
• List of calypso-like genres
• List of Caribbean music genres
• Mento, a Jamaican folk music related to Calypso
• Soca music

• Hill, Donald R. Calypso Calaloo: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad (1993). ISBN 0-8130-1221-X. (cloth); ISBN 0-8130-1222-8 (pbk). University Press of Florida. 2nd edition: Temple University Press (2006); ISBN 1-59213-463-7.
• Mendes, John (1986). Cote ce Cote la Trinidad and Tobago Dictionary. John Mendes, Arima, Trinidad.
• Quevedo, Raymond (Atilla the Hun). 1983. Atilla's Kaiso: a short history of Trinidad calypso (1983). University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. (Includes the words to many old calypsos as well as musical scores for some of Atilla's calypsos.)
• Gittens, Sinclair (August 12, 2010). "The origin of calypso". Nation Newspaper. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

• Calypso music at Curlie
• Calypsonians.com