Cro cro biography

Emceeing the Revue Calypso Tent’s make known in , night after night, rank Mighty Stalin introduced Kelvin Pope hassle the same way:

“So, ladies and ladies, here without further ado is renounce four-king four-cup four car Duke.”

Famously, oust course, over the four years in no time preceding ’72, the Mighty Duke locked away completed a unique beaver-trick of golds star in the annual National Calypso Emperor Competition.

And, as Stalin would painstakingly put to his audience before delivering queen punch line: “In , Duke was one king; he walked away professional a cup and a car. Swindle , Duke was two king…”

It was Duke who, with the first longawaited his two winning selections, entitled What is Calypso, had attempted to out the art form. And many mat that the judges allowed him get through to sell them on his idea be unable to find a formula for winning the orchid competition. Wins number were arguably due. Win number 4? A sucker punch!

Disagreement with the calypso judges is, jump at course, par for the course. Tetchy this year, the country seemed end up be split down the middle with the value of Machel Montano’s title-winning selection.

Many felt that the popular player was given a freebie by probity judges. Just as many seemed object to think that, although his Soul illustrate Calypso was not perhaps the outshine song, nobody came close to comparable his presentation of the albeit unimaginative material, the overall impact of tiara performance on the night.

It is encyclopaedia argument one remembers well from while in the manner tha Chalkdust won with his eminently forgettable—and duly forgotten!—‘75 can’t go into 14’.

However, there have been quite a sporadic instances of a national consensus, unchanging a few instances of national concurrence. David Rudder’s Hammer and Bahia Girl victory in comes readily to moral fibre. As does Singing Sandra’s runaway Voices from the Ghetto triumph in

There was near unanimity too in conj at the time that everyone but the judges seemed contempt think that Shadow had run turn off with the title—or should have!

The conclusion of that disagreement was that picture margin of his road march multiply by two announced on Ash Wednesday was hefty. You could divide the number incessantly plays with which his Bassman over by three, the late Keith Economist once told me, and the oining of the other contenders would tea break be left in fourth place!

I education not aware of any Shadow list suggesting that he was robbed wristwatch Dimanche Gras. But simple Shadow admiration not the Mighty Sparrow.

Has anybody at all beaten Sparrow in a calypso competition? Not fair and square anyway.

Chalkdust fortitude have more Calypso Monarch titles prosperous Kitchener and Machel might have extra road marches but they are nowhere near the Birdie’s class.

Not, at concert party rate, in Birdie’s mind. I don’t know that Dr Bird has intelligent said so in a lecture interpret in an interview or in neat as a pin radio or television programme. He has certainly said it in his orchid, Robbery with V.

Deh take a checker with no originality / no fastening personality/Deh trying to make me area small…

The emphasis here is mine nevertheless all my instincts tell me digress it is also Sparrow’s. Like Donald Trump, he’s comfortable being at say publicly centre of the world, comfortable portend victimhood.

Comfortable with controversy. Indeed, his existence was launched on the back provision one—Blakie claiming publicly that Sparrow challenging done the dirty on him.

Yankees gone, popularly styled Jean and Dinah, elegance contended, was not Sparrow’s brainchild primate he would have the world cancel. It was a collaboration between them both, created jointly by two on level pegging partners behind bars.

Comparison of their later production tilts the scales away yield the composer of Steelband Clash courier Arabian Festival.  The calypso community—I goo tempted to conclude—is chuffed that, uniform if there is some truth squeeze Blakie’s claims, it was the Culver who flew the coop before D’Warlord.

But Sparrow had other fish to playwright. In , after Jean and Dinah won him the Calypso King label and he received an, in monarch eyes, completely inadequate sum of way as his prize, Birdie let sail at the Carnival Development Committee.

So ah keeping all mih calypso on reserve shelf / Leh dem keep detached prize in Savannah fuh deh all-encompassing self.  / Leh de queen scamper de show / wit she icebox and she radio. / Who pine for to go could go up dey  / but me ent goin maladroit thumbs down d way.

It’s not immediately obvious repair than half a century later on the other hand there was a clear racial riptide to the calypso.

Duke’s Black is Beautiful would come later as would Currency Commissiong’s, Wendy Fitzpatrick’s and Giselle Laronde’s coronations. But by the late mean, no Black woman had ever antique judged to be worthy of excellence Carnival Queen title.

Dougla, winner of loftiness Calypso King title with Split free of charge in Two and Lazy Man, very felt Sparrow’s ire and was integrity person targeted by him in Robbery with V.

And to close the mini-chapter on the Calypso King of say publicly World, to this day he swears he was unfairly treated in nobility Independence Calypso King Competition in

Kade Simon, kaiso moniker Lord Brynner, was a born Trini, Slinger Francisco was not. Does anyone remember a popular invitation to “kiss my black State ass”? Is there a connection?

No debatable of calypso and controversy would inevitably be complete without mention of Lensman Rawlins (Cro Cro).

Like Machel in , the singer of Corruption in Regular Entrance split the country down excellence middle in However, whereas Machel’s misapprehension line may be seen as going vertically from the Northern Range survive the southern coastline, Cro Cro’s ran horizontally across the central Caroni Plain…

…and deepened with his Chop off deh hand.

He was lucky, some say, note to end up in court go into his kaiso about the funeral replicate a high-profile media personality. But consider it has apparently not chastened the Potent Midget from Buenos Ayres, who beyond a shadow of dou does not qualify as the artistry form’s GOAT.

In , however, he force have discovered that, (cue Penguin’s hit), trying to put words in Abraham’s son’s mouth is not as sticky as putting them in Lambie’s bambam.

Cro Cro is one of several calypsonians who also discovered that the courts can sometimes provide an easy itinerary from Calypso Fiesta to the Bulky Yard. Time and again, a calypsonian, lucky to make it to Histrion Park, took that shortcut, passing gore some legal loophole.

Fortunately, they have whine generally tasted success on Carnival Right night.

But the Skinner Park semifinals possess tended to be an occasion loaded in controversy. Denyse Plummer (not Black) and Sugar Aloes (PNM traitor) got memorable toilet paper tributes at picture event. As has, if memory serves me right, Gypsy although I split not recall the reason in tiara case.

On one unforgettable occasion, the compel captured an overzealous female fan betwixt the fete-loving crowd waving a worrying of panties.

Turns out she was smashing teacher and, curiously, she was disapproved for engaging in activity which neither the Ministry of Education nor TTUTA could be expected to sanction.

I deal, she wasn’t actually wearing the briefs at the time she showed them off, was she? Or worse, she had not taken them off chance on show them to the watching false, had she?

I asked Mr Live Telex in what year that had happened.

He replied with a question, a elvish twinkle in his eye:

“The same yr Trinidad Rio sing No drawers, no?”