Trinidadian calypsonian Growling Tiger wrote "Money Is King" during 1935, in the midst of the Depression. The calypso commented on the inequality of a society where money equals power. Tiger recorded the calypso in New York that same year, and it remained one of his best-known songs. In 1979 he recorded an updated version in New York for an album titled Knockdown Calypsos, produced by calypso researcher Steve Shapiro.
The social commentary of "Money Is King" appealed to members
of the folksong revival in New York during the 1940s. Pete Seeger performed
it with Sir Lancelot, Lord Invader and other New York-based calypso singers.
In the early 1950s, Seeger recorded the song and, in 1966, featured it
in a Caribbean show in his television series called Rainbow Quest.
Folksong interpreter Bob Gibson also recorded the song, and its lyrics
and music were printed in Sing Out, a magazine of the folksong
revival. "Money Is King" has continued to be recorded and performed
by a variety of other artists, including Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger.
