Another calypso record from Brick Lane picked up in the 80's. It's on the cleverly titled Kalypso label and released in 1963.
"Christo made a living as a cabinet-maker and sang in church choirs before he became the lead singer for the John "Buddy" Williams Band in the 1940s. His calypso career began in 1952 when he appeared at Atilla the Hun's Victory Tent. He then joined the McLean Brothers and accompanied them on a tour of the USA in December 1952. He later moved over to the Young Brigade Tent in 1955. The Young Brigade Tent became the Original Young Brigade Tent (OYB) in 1956, and Christo continued to sing with the OYB until he left for Chicago, Ilinois, USA, where he appeared at various nightclubs and on television. He returned to Trinidad in 1960 and continued to sing at the OYB for the rest of his career. Although he never won a title, Christo's popular songs "Miss Universe" and "Chicken Chest" were tailor-made for steelbands and were played extensively on the road during the 1957 Carnival."
A great archive of old calypso HERE at Irwin Chusid's radio show in the last hour. Well worth a listen if you like this kind of stuff. The first couple of hours is good too!
Lord Christo - Nursery Rhyme
Lord Christo - Indian Party
Lord Christo - The Parrot
Lord Christo - Jamaican Girls
These SendSpace files are available for seven days or until exhausted.
Nice to see the link to the inimitable WFMU. I despair at the quality of today's FM radio and the bland homogenised music that serves only to fleece the public of their hard earned cash.
ReplyDeleteI know I must be getting old when I yearn for return to the days when bands were happy to put all their energy into a couple of songs, press up 99 copies on 7" vinyl and then disappear into the netherworld of the lost classic.
I couldn't agree with you more spice. The radio is pretty rubbish most days but i still have time for Mark Lamaar's Oldies Rock show on BBBC Radio 2 and sometimes Radio 4 has a interesting documentary about some old comedy star of the 30's. The recent series about Spike Jones, Victor Borge and Hoffnung comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteIs there any way these could be re-posted or sent to me sometime? I had them and they were lost when I upgraded my computer.
ReplyDeleteHappy to oblige.
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