The Calypso Monarch (originally Calypso King) contest is one of the two major annual calypso competitions held in Trinidad and all English speaking Caribbean islands, as part of the annual carnival celebrations.

History

While Trinidad's carnival has its origins in the 18th century, a singing contest was first held in 1911, when the Jubilee Establishment offered a prize for "the most original song on a local topic".[1] Further competitions were held after World War I, and the Calypso King contest was first held in 1939.[1] The first winner was Growling Tiger with "Trade Union", followed by Roaring Lion in 1940 and Mighty Destroyer in 1941.[1][2] After a break during World War II, it resumed in 1946, with Atilla the Hun winning the first of two consecutive titles.[1] Mighty Spoiler won the first of three titles in 1948, and Lord Melody the first of three the following year. The competition's most successful calypsonians, Mighty Sparrow and Chalkdust, have won the title eight and nine times respectively, the first in 1956, and the last in 1992 for Sparrow, and Chalkdust's reigns were between 1976 and 2017.[1]

While calypso had been traditionally a male preserve, the contest was won in 1978 by Calypso Rose, prompting the organisers to crown her 'Calypso Monarch', the gender-neutral title remaining from that day.[1][2] There was not another female winner until Singing Sandra took the crown in 1999.[3] Singing Sandra is the only female calypsonian to win the Calypso Monarch twice. She won the crown again in 2003.[4]

The late Mighty Duke is the only calypsonian to have won the title on four consecutive occasions between 1968 and 1971.

Rastafari calypsonian Black Stalin won the title on five occasions between 1979 and 1995.[5]

The contest is limited to Trinidad & Tobago nationals however similar Calypso Monarch contests are now held annually in other Caribbean countries and also in North America and the United Kingdom.[6]

Winners

YearWinnerWinning song(s)Title #
1939Growling Tiger"Trade Union"1
1940Roaring Lion"Rise and Fall of the British Empire"1
1941Mighty Destroyer"Adolf Hitler"1
1946Atilla the Hun"Daily Mail Report"1st
1947Atilla the Hun"Million Dollar Jail"2nd
1948Mighty Spoiler"Royal Wedding"1st
1949Lord Melody"Glory Mama Glory"1st
1950No competition held
1951Lord Melody"Jonah and the Bake"2nd
1953Mighty Spoiler"Bed Bug"2nd
1954Lord Melody"Second Spring"3rd
1955Mighty Spoiler"Pick Sense Out of Nonsense"3rd
1956Mighty Sparrow"Yankees Gone"1st
1957Lord Pretender"Que Sera Sera"1
1958Striker"Don't Blame the PNM", "Can't Find a Job to Suit Me"1st
1959Striker"Ban the Hoola Hoop", "Comparison"2nd
1960Mighty Sparrow"Mae Mae", "Ten to One Is Murder"2nd
1961Mighty Dougla"Lazy Man", "Split Me in Two"1
1962Mighty Sparrow"Model Nation", "Sparrow Come Back Home"3rd
1963Mighty Sparrow"Dan Is the Man in the Van"4th
1964Mighty Bomber"Joan and James", "Bomber's Dream"1
1965Sniper"Portrait of Trinidad", "More Production"1
1966Mighty Terror"Pan Jamboree", "Last Year's Happiness"1
1967Mighty Cypher"Last Elections", "If the Priest Could Play"1
1968Mighty Duke"What Is Calpyso", "Social Bacchanal"1st
1969Mighty Duke"One Foot Visina", "Black Is Beautiful"2nd
1970Mighty Duke"Brotherhood of Man", "See Through"3rd
1971Mighty Duke"Mathematical Formula", "Melvin & Yvonne"4th
1972Mighty Sparrow"Drunk and Disorderly"5th
1973Mighty Sparrow"School Days", "Same Time, Same Place"6th
1974Mighty Sparrow"We Pass That Stage", "Miss Mary"7th
1975Lord Kitchener"Tribute to Spree Simon", "Fever"1
1976Chalkdust"No Smut For Me", "Ah Put On Meh Guns Again"1st
1977Chalkdust"My Way Of Protest", "Shango Vision"2nd
1978Calypso Rose"I Thank Thee", "Her Majesty"1
1979Black Stalin"Caribbean Man (Caribbean Unity)", "Play One"1st
1980Lord Relator"Food Prices", "Take ah Rest Mr Prime Minister"1
1981Chalkdust"Things That Worry Me", "I Can't Make"3rd
1982Scrunter"The Will", "Ah Lick E Thing"1
1983Tobago Crusoe"Don't Cry Now", "South Africa"1
1984Penguin"We Living in Jail", "Sorf Man"1
1985Black Stalin"Ism Schism", "Wait Dorothy Wait"2nd
1986David Rudder"The Hammer", "Bahia Girl"1
1987Black Stalin"Mr Pan Maker", "Burn Them"3rd
1988Cro-Cro"Three Bo-rats", "Corruption in Common Entrance"1st
1989Chalkdust"Chauffeur Wanted", "Carnival Is the Answer"4th
1990Cro-Cro"Political Dictionary", "Party"2nd
1991Black Stalin"Ah Feel to Party", "Look on the Bright Side"4th
1992Mighty Sparrow"Both of Them", "Survival"8th
1993Chalkdust"Misconception", "Kaiso in the Hospital"5th
1994=De Lamo"31 Years Old", "Trinity Is My Name"1
1994=Luta"Good Driving", "Licensed Firearm"1st
1995Black Stalin"In Time", "Tribute to Sundar Popo"5th
1996Cro-Cro"All Yuh Look for Dat", "Deh Cyah Stop Social Commentary"3rd
1997Gypsy"Rhythm of a People", "Little Black Boy"1
1998Mystic Prowler"Vision of T&T in the Year 2010", "Look Beneath the Surface"1
1999Singing Sandra"Voices from the Ghetto", "Song for Healing"1st
2000Shadow"What's Wrong with Me", "Scratch meh Back"1
2001Denyse Plummer"Heroes", "Nah Leaving"1
2002Sugar Aloes"Contribution", "Jubilation"1st
2003Singing Sandra"For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Ancient Rhythm"2nd
2004Chalkdust"Trinidad in the Cemetery", "Fish Mongrel"6th
2005Chalkdust"A When I Vexed, I doh Rhyme", "In Town Too Long"7th
2006Luta"Check The Foundation", "Kaiso Kaiso"2nd
2007Cro-Cro"Nobody Ain't Go Know"4th
2008Sugar Aloes"Reflections"2nd
2009Chalkdust"My Heart and I"8th
2010Kurt Allen"Too Bright"1
2011Karene Asche"Careful What You Ask For", "Uncle Jack"1
2012Duane O'Connor"The Hunt Is On", "Long Live Calypso"1
2013Eric "Pink Panther" Taylor"Travel Woe", "Crying in the Chapel"1
2014Roderick "Chucky" Gordon"Wey You Think", "Wedding of de Century"1st
2015Roderick "Chucky" Gordon"The Rose", "I Believe"2nd
2016Devon Seale“Respect God's Voice”, "Spirit of Carnival"1
2017Chalkdust"75 can't go into 14"9th
2018 Helon Francis "Change" 1
2019Ronaldo London“Imagination”1
2020 Terri Lyons "Obeah", "Meghan My Dear" 1

Multiple Titles

Only a few Calypsonians have the honour of being crowned multiple-time monarchs,

WinnerYears# Of Titles
Atilla the Hun1946-19472
Mighty Spoiler1948, 1953, 19553
Lord Melody1949, 1950, 19543
Mighty Sparrow1956, 1960, 1962–1963, 1972–1974, 19928
Striker1958-19592
Mighty Duke1968-19714
Chalkdust1976–1977, 1981, 1989, 1993, 2004–2005, 2009, 20179
Black Stalin1979, 1985, 1987, 1991, 19955
Cro-Cro1988, 1990, 1996, 20074
Luta1994 (Tie), 20062
Singing Sandra1999, 20032
Sugar Aloes2002, 20082
Roderick "Chucky" Gordon2014, 20152

See also

  • Harry Belafonte, US artist arguably best known for his interpretations of Calypso music

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6, pp. 4-5
  2. 1 2 Winer, Lise (2009) Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago, McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 978-0773534063, p. 159
  3. Ferguson, Isaac (1999) "Trinidad's Women Set Tone of '99 Carnival", Billboard, 20 March 1999, p. 8, 87. Retrieved 16 September 2013
  4. "Calypso Monarch: Take your craft seriously". 22 February 2020.
  5. O'Brien, Glenn (1985) "Calypso", Spin, June 1985, pp. 42-45. Retrieved 16 September 2013
  6. Mason, Peter (1998) Bacchanal!: The Carnival Culture of Trinidad, Temple University Press, ISBN 978-1566396639, p. 51
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