Calypso: A World Music
An Exhibition of Photographs and Illustrations of the International History of Calypso, 1930-1970
Part 1 | Part 2
| CALYPSO: A WORLD MUSIC |
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Introduction
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Calypso: A World MusicAn Exhibition of Photographs and Illustrations of the International History of Calypso, 1930-1970Part 1 | Part 2 |
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Calypso originated in the Caribbean island of Trinidad around 1900. By the 1950s, people were listening to the music in many different countries of the Americas, Europe and Africa. Audiences everywhere were attracted to the poetic language, social observations and lively rhythms of calypso. Fans bought calypso records and songbooks. They went to hear calypso in nightclubs, concert halls and movie theaters. They listened to calypso on the radio and on television. Calypso became one of the most popular types of music of the mid-twentieth century!
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How did a local musical tradition from a small island become an international phenomenon? During the twentieth century, people from Trinidad and other Caribbean islands traveled overseas and took calypso with them. Tourists from North America and Europe traveled to the Caribbean and enjoyed calypso there. Records, radio, movies and other media transmitted calypso to mass audiences. People in North America, Africa and Europe began to sing calypso themselves. |
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