Early Recordings of Calypso Part 1 | Part 2

Calypso in Trinidad: Carnival and Musical Traditions Calypso Tents and Calypsonians The Composition of Calypso Early Recordings of Calypso Calypso in the 1940s and 1950s

A turning point in the recording of calypso occurred in 1934, when two top calypsonians, Atilla the Hun and the Roaring Lion, traveled to New York to record for the American Record Company. This session was arranged by Eduardo Sa Gomes, a phonograph merchant in Trinidad, and Gerald Clark, a Trinidadian bandleader in New York. During the following years, several major calypsonians recorded in New York for the American Record Company and Decca. In the late 1930s, Decca and RCA Victor also recorded calypsonians in Trinidad.

Sa Gomes and calypsonians

R.C.A. advertisement

Sa Gomes advertisement

Sa Gomes advertisement

The calypso records produced during the 1930s were sold both in the Caribbean and in Caribbean communities in the United States. Eduardo Sa Gomes, for example, had a chain of shops throughout the English-speaking Caribbean and was a major promoter of calypso records. The calypsonians' trips abroad and the success of their records contributed to their stature as professional artists in Trinidad. Their reputations grew but, in the end, they received minimal or no royalties for their recordings.

"Bing Crosby"	"Three Friends' Advice"
Next: Calypso in the 1940s and 1950s

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