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The earliest calypsonians reign
Part II
SOMEWHERE between 1897 and 1900 Phillip Garcia, who sang under the sobriquet of Lord Executor, appeared on the calypso stage. The dates differ between calypsonian Atilla the Hun (Raymond Quevedo) and theatre historian Errol Hill, but most importantly, as calypso historian and ethnomusicologist Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool writes in Calypsonians to Remember, Lord Executor revolutionised calypso by being the first calypsonians to sing in English.
Chalkdust says Executor also revolutionised calypso by “moving from a single tone and cemented the eight-line minor key that Atilla later described as the oratorical pattern in song.”
Chalkdust tells us Executor injected wit into calypso. For the first decade of the 20th century he won nearly every calypso contest.
The soul of calypso
Lord Kitchener, left, Lord Superior and Melody -
IT S impossible to think of Carnival without calypso. From the plantations where slaves once performed to entertain or insult slave masters’ guests to the post-Emancipation Carnival celebrations, calypso always offered a platform for entertainment and education. If you listen closely to the music of today, you can hear the voices of the past: Lord Executor, Railway Douglas, Lord Beginner, Atilla the Hun and Spoiler. Those pioneering calypsonians laid the foundation for calypso to develop into the structure we know today.
We can’t pile into calypso tents or parade through the streets in pretty mas this year because of covid19, but this calm and peaceful Carnival season is the perfect time to reflect on what calypso means to this country. Join me for a celebration of calypso and a reflection of its history in a calypso series leading up to Carnival 2021.