Calypsos -Too Hot To Handle

This rather warped copy of "Calypsos - Too Hot To Handle" on the Monogram label was found a fewyears ago but I forget exactly where. The rather risque songs are typical of the calypso of the time which dealt also with social issues and local politics, in fact anything that was news worthy in the West Indies at that time.

"Calypso rhythms can be traced back to the arrival of the first African slaves brought to work in the sugar plantations of Trinidad. Forbidden to talk to each other, and robbed of all links to family and home, the African slaves began to sing songs. They used calypso, which can be traced back to West African kaiso, as a means of communication and to mock the slave masters.

Trinidad was colonized by the Spanish, received large numbers of French immigrants, and was later ruled by the British. This multi-colonial past has greatly impacted the development of calypso in Trinidad. Many early calypsos were sung in a French-Creole dialect called patois ("pat-was"). These songs, usually led by one individual called a griot, helped to unite the slaves.

Calypso singing competitions, held annually at Carnival time, grew in popularity after the abolition of slavery by the British in the 1830s. (It was the French who brought the tradition of Carnival to Trinidad.) The griot later became known as the chantuelle and today as the calypsonian."

Discover more about calypso HERE.


Duke Of Iron - I Left Her Behind For You

Hayden - He like It, She Like It

Marie Bryant - Don't Touch Me Tomato

Duke Of Iron - Music Lesson

Duke Of Iron - Postman


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