Rupert Grant (Lord Invader)
Though Lord Invader (1914-1961) is best remembered as the composer of "Rum and Coca Cola," he was a calypsonian with a wide-ranging career. He began singing in the calypso tents of Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1937. That same year the U.S.-based Bluebird Records selected him for a recording session in Trinidad. In 1939 he recorded one of his best-known calypsos, "Don't Stop the Carnival," which was later reinterpreted by Harry Belafonte. Invader was active in the tents in Trinidad through the 1940s and into the 1950s. After the war, however, he spent a substantial amount of time in New York, pursuing a royalties lawsuit as the author of the lyrics of "Rum and Coca Cola," which was a hit record for the Andrews Sisters. He finally received a settlement in 1955.
During the 1940s, Invader sang in nightclubs in New York and, in 1946,
appeared in folklorist Alan Lomax's Calypso at Midnight concert
at Town Hall. The previous year he sang "Yankee Dollar in Trinidad"
in the movie House Rent Party. Meanwhile, he established a relationship
with Mo Asch of Disc/Folkways Records and continued to record with him
for many years. In 1956 he traveled to England, where he appeared on the
BBC and recorded for British labels, before touring Holland, Belgium and
Germany. Eventually, he returned to the U.S. and recorded a couple more
albums for Folkways. Invader died in New York at age 47.
