Ras Shorty I

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Ras Shorty I (October 6, 1941-July 12, 2000) was a soca musician, known as the Father of Soca and The Love Man. He was born Garfield Blackman in Lengua, Trinidad and Tobago, and rose to fame as Lord Shorty with his 1963 hit "Clock and Dagger". He was working in calypso at the time, writing songs and performing. In the 1970s, he began experimenting with the calypso and blending it with the local chutney, music of the East Indian population of Trinidad, using instruments such as the sitar and tabla and created a style dubbed soca.

Lord Shorty, as he was still known, released the first recorded soca in 1973, with his hit song "Indrani". The following year's Endless Vibrations earned him a devoted audience of fans, many of whom began performing in his style. His fame continued to grow throughout the 1970s, and he became one of the country's top performers, recording other tracks such as Kim and Money Eh No Problem, a stinging political and social commentary based on words of the then Prime Minister, Eric Williams of the People's National Movement. Money Eh No Problem was used in a political advertising campaign in 2000 for the United National Congress.

In his early days, he was well-known as a womaniser and had 23 children. In 1984, then, he became disenchanted with soca, believing that it was being used for the wrong reasons. He adopted the name Ras Shorty I soon after, he moved into the Piparo forest in the hills of southern Trinidad with his family and became a strong Christian, basing the family's worship in music.

In the late 80s, he began recording again, this time fusing soca, and gospel in a style he called Jamoo. He continued recording into the late 1990s, writing hits like Watch Out My Children, about the dangers of drug abuse, which was recorded in ten languages. Watch Out My Children was adopted by the UN in an anti-cocaine campaign. He performed in many countries with his band, the Love Circle, comprised mainly of his family members, his wife Claudette and sons such as Eldon, Sheldon and Isaac, who have gone on to record several songs successfully, such as Blessed are the Elders and To The Ceiling. His daughters, Marge, Neheilet and Avion Blackman also have successful recording careers and Avion started designing cotton outfits with colourful themes, now taken over by her sisters.

Shorty along with his children were responsible for several highly-infectious and melodious hits. Shorty's musicality was put to highly constructive use through Jamoo, making over several gospel songs and writing a number of songs with positive messages for all, especially young people and also pleading with modern soca artistes to preach positivity and the word of God through their music.

Ras Shorty I died in 2000 of multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer.