Norman Span (King Radio)
King Radio remains one of the most respected of all calypsonians. His infectious "Matilda," "Brown Skin Gal" and "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" are among the best-known calypsos to this day. (All three songs were hits for Harry Belafonte.) In Trinidad, Radio was a popular entertainer in the calypso tents. His colleague the Roaring Lion stated that he had a wonderful voice and was liable to steal the show at any moment.
Radio was born at the beginning of the twentieth century and was employed
as a dockworker in Port of Spain. He sang vaudeville songs
before joining the Red Dragon calypso tent in the late 1920s. In 1929
he sang a popular calypso on the flight of Charles Lindbergh to Trinidad.
In 1936 he traveled with other select calypsonians to record in New York;
he continued to record into the 1950s. After World War II, Radio spent
18 months in the U.S., with performances in nightclubs in New York, Miami
and Hollywood. In the early 1950s, he recorded for Eduardo Sa Gomes's
label in Trinidad. One of the most popular of these later recordings was
"Ramadin on the Ball," a celebration of the great West Indies
cricket spin bowler who was part of the team that defeated England at
Lords in 1950. During the 1960s, Radio performed in nightclubs in the
Caribbean. He died in 1970.
