Calypso

As with Afro-Cuban music and jazz, calypso reflects both the intense sorrows of slavery (and rural poverty) and the joys of liberation. More like gospel than blues, it is a lyrical tradition with origins in Europe, Africa, and tropical regions from the Americas to India. Originating in Trinidad in the West Indies, calypso, also called cariso, spread throughout the Caribbean islands. Some of the best calypso, however, was performed and recorded by Trinidadians in New York, such as the Duke of Iron.

The steel pan, Hollywood, tourism, and the folk efforts of Harry Belafonte ultimately threatened the proud, rebellious, and comical lyrical tradition of calypso. Fortunately the Mighty Sparrow emerged as calypso's great champion and revolutionary. Sparrow modernized calypso, returned its "edge," and extended its vitality for several decades. But calypso has had to give way for dance music, such as mento, ska, reggae, soca, jump-up, and other modern idioms.

As with Hawaiian music, calypso is extraordinarily rich in cultural influences, from African drumming to European minstrel tradition. Ribaldry abounds in such double-entendre classics as "The Big Bamboo" and "Parakeets," and vacationers apparently were well-disposed to it. Sometimes the rich and famous, such as J.P. Morgan and son, even requested songs written about them directly from the composer. While originally carisos may have derived their pseudonyms --Duke, Lord, King-- from slave owners, their nobility was never questioned -- except by rival calypsonians!