Calypso Rose

Calypso Rose

Calypso Rose performing in concert
Background information
Birth name Linda McArtha Monica Sandy-Lewis
Also known as Crusoe Kid
Born (1940-04-27) 27 April 1940
Bethel Village, Tobago
Genres Calypso, Soca
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Vocalist
Years active 1964–present
Labels Because Music
Website Calypso Rose Tribute Site

Calypso Rose (born April 27 1940, in Bethel Village, Trinidad & Tobago) is a calypsonian. She started writing songs at the age of 15; over the years, she has composed more than 800 songs and recorded more than 20 albums.

She currently resides in Queens, New York, and has stated that she likes to return to her native island several times a year to “revitalize herself” and “get back to her African roots in Tobago”.

Biography

Calypso Rose, born Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis, grew up in a small village on the island of Tobago, one of the two Caribbean islands forming the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, birthplace of calypso, one of the most popular style of music in the world.

Her father was a preacher and a leader of the Spiritual Shouter Baptists. Her family was very traditional and opposed her singing in Carnival tents. She composed her first calypso in 1955 after seeing a man steal the show from two women performing on a stage: this was the earliest calypso written on gender inequality.

Travelling outside of Trinidad & Tobago for the first time in 1963, Rose covered the Caribbean islands from Grenada to St. Thomas. She won the Calypso King contest in St. Thomas with her first recording, Cooperation. This was the first time a woman had ever been awarded the title.

In 1964, she decided to dedicate her  life  to a career in music . Though originally known as Crusoe Kid, she was given the name Calypso Rose by calypsonian Mighty Spoiler and fellow Carnival tent members.

In 1966 Rose wrote the song "Fire in Me Wire", the first calypso ever running  two years in a row at the Trinidad carnival. She performed with Bob Marley & the Wailers at the Grand Ballroom in New York City in 1967.

1978 marked the year the Trinidad Road March competition’s title was changed to Calypso Monarch in her honour.

Rose has been living in New York since 1983. In October 1996, she underwent surgery for breast cancer and in 1998 undertook therapy for a malignancy in her stomach.

She was the subject of a documentary (Calypso Rose, Lioness in the Jungle) in 2011.

In 2015 French singer Manu Chao discovered her work and decided to help out with the production of her new album, in which he is featured on three songs. A compilation, Calypso Soundsystem feat. Calypso Rose, Queen of Calypso for 40 years!, was released by label Because Music (Major Lazer, Manu Chao, Selah Sue, Christine & the Queens, Justice) in 2016. Rose released her album, Far from Home, in June 2016 and won the 2017 World Music Album of the Year prize at French music award ceremony Les Victoires de la Musique. In 2017  the album was awarded Platinum sale status in France ,a premiere for any artist from Trinidad and Tobago.

Awards and honours

Films

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thompson, David (2001). Reggae and Caribbean Music: Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion. Milwaukee (WI): Backbeatbooks. ISBN 0879306556.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Profile, wackradio901fm.com; retrieved 8 November 2014 (archive.org).
  3. ↑ Persad, Seeta (July 22, 2009). "Documentary on Calypso Rose to be released". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Calypso Rose gets Lifetime Achievement Award in Germany, port-of-spain.diplo.de (in German); retrieved 20 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "WOMEX Awards". WOMEX: The World Music Expo. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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