CALYPSO: A WORLD MUSIC
HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA
Introduction
Calypso in Trinidad
International Calypso
Artists
Songs
Calypso Today

Calypso Shows

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

 

During the 1940s and 1950s, impresarios presented calypso at a variety of concert halls and theaters.
International Calypso
The United States:

Calypso in America
The Calypso Craze
Publishing Calypso
Calypso Shows
Calypso in the Movies

Calypso at Midnight

In 1946 folklorist Alan Lomax produced Calypso at Midnight at Town Hall in New York. This concert, featuring the leading New York-based calypso artists, was presented by People's Songs, a leftist organization that included Pete Seeger and other singers.
 

Audio examples from Calypso at Midnight:
 

"Edward VIII."

 

Written by Rufus Callender (Caresser).
Sung by the Duke of Iron, Lord Invader and Macbeth the Great.
Accompanied by Gerard Clark and His Invaders.
Originally recorded at Town Hall, New York, 1946.

From: Calypso at Midnight. Rounder 11661-1840-2.
Courtesy of the Lomax Archive and Rounder Records. ©1999. Used by permission. www.alan-lomax.com

Listen: RealAudio (678 KB) | Windows Media Player (718 KB) | Read lyrics
 

 

"Calypso War."

 

Written and sung by Rupert Grant (Lord Invader), Patrick McDonald (Macbeth the Great) and Cecil Anderson (Duke of Iron).
Accompanied by Gerald Clark and His Invaders.
Originally recorded at Town Hall, New York, 1946.

From: Calypso After Midnight. Rounder 11661-1841-2.
Courtesy of the Lomax Archive and Rounder Records. ©1999. Used by permission. www.alan-lomax.com

Listen: RealAudio (1.05 MB) | Windows Media Player (1.02 MB) | Read lyrics

Caribbean Carnival

In 1947 Adolph Thenstead produced Caribbean Carnival, a very different type of show, on Broadway. This production, directed by Sam Manning and billed as the first "calypso musical," included a mix of drama, song and dance from Trinidad, Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean. Pan-Caribbean shows, featuring a variety of art forms, became a standard stage format in New York in the postwar years.
 


 

 

 
photo

Pearl Primus

program cover
Program

Calypso Carousel

During the 1950s, the most active Caribbean music and dance troupe in New York was the Carib Singers, led by the Jamaican vocalist Massie Patterson. In the mid-1950s, the troupe presented a show, Calypso Carousel, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and other New York venues. The program featured traditional songs and dances from Trinidad, Haiti, Jamaica and other islands.

 
program
Program, page 5
 

photo of players
Cast
 

Next: Calypso Shows, part 2