It got quieter in the musical world last September 27. The man who is considered worldwide as the ‘King of Calypso’ passed away after a short illness in New York, United States. To the world he was ‘Mighty Sparrow’, to loyal fans and intimates affectionately ‘Birdie’, and to the family members who surrounded him at his deathbed ‘simply’ Slinger Francisco.
Born on July 9, 1935, in Grand Roy, Grenada, and raised in Trinidad, he reached the blessed age of 91 years. ‘The Calypso King of the World’ leaves behind a catalogue of more than 70 records and CDs, with at least 500 songs that he wrote during a career that spanned more than seven decades. Humorous, sharp, and steeped in social-historical observations were top hits like ‘Jean and Dinah’, with which he broke through in 1956, and dozens of others that lingered for generations.
Multilingual, international attention
Mighty Sparrow’s reach outside Trinidad extended far beyond, for example, the Dutch Caribbean Aruba, Curaçao, Saba, and Sint Maarten. He had a special bond with the entire Caribbean region and maintained it with songs mainly in standard and Trinidadian English, but also with words and phrases in Spanish and Haitian Creole – a sign of his innate feeling for his audience, wherever that audience was.
But his vision reached further than the Caribbean region. He also paid attention to Asia and to South and Central America: in ‘Chinese Love Affair’ (1974) he recounts the meeting of a soldier fighting for America with a young Chinese woman in Vietnam. In it he even seems to sing a few words in Mandarin. Venezuela popped up in ‘Más in Caracas’ (1980), Mexico in the cheerful ‘Margarita’ (1982), and Suriname in ‘Paramaribo’ (1998), whereby he effortlessly wove some Sranantongo into his lyrics. A citizen of the world in the true sense of the word.
‘No more Yankees in Trinidad’
Arthur Richardson (55), who moved from Aruba to Curaçao as a young child, but was raised by his grandfather from Sint Eustatius, vividly remembers the cheerfulness that calypso brought during cozy gatherings, a mixture of family and friends with Windward Islands roots, and also Curaçaoans: “It was calypso of mainly Mighty Sparrow that was played, of course. Moreover, my father, Jonas Richardson, played ‘pick guitar’ – guitar playing with a pick or plectrum – in a calypso band in Aruba.”
He remembers it as if it happened yesterday: “Whenever my grandfather threw a party, the DJ always had to play ‘Jean and Dinah’ as the very first song. Only then could other songs and artists get a chance.”
Second from left ‘pick guitarist’ Jonas Richardson in the calypso band ‘The Sensations’ in the second half of the 1970s. Two songs by the Calypso King – who once visited Aruba as ‘Mighty Sparrow with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires’ – that they often played, were ‘Mr. Walker’ and ‘Benwood Dick’.
Besides the danceability and the playful satire, it was apparently also the theme of that song that deeply touched those who had lived through that turbulent period themselves: the song aptly describes that when a fragile economy relies too much on foreign money, women can resort to desperate prostitution when that ‘fast money’ disappears. That was the painful experience of Trinidad when British and American military personnel suddenly left behind the bases that they had built and manned on the island at the beginning of the Second World War.
‘Only a Fool’
“Years after the death of my grandpa, I found a compilation CD with hits by Mighty Sparrow,” the always cheerful Richardson continues to tell. “I bought it immediately and played it right away when I got home.”
He relates, with a lump in his throat: “Upon hearing ‘Jean and Dinah’ again, and particularly ‘Only a Fool (Breaks His Own Heart)’, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I burst into tears and sat crying on the couch like a little baby. Even my wife Marylin – we have known each other since we were thirteen and fourteen – could not comfort me.”
He pauses for a moment. Then, after a deep sigh, the smile reappears: “I hope Birdie had an idea of how deeply he touched hearts with his music. It’s no small thing.”
High-flyer keeps flying
One thing is undeniably certain: the 21-year-old who was teased by older calypsonians with the name ‘Little Sparrow’ because he didn’t sing standing still, but kept jumping up and down and running back and forth on stage, embraced that nickname, after which his fans changed it into ‘Mighty Sparrow’. He flew high for another 70 years – and will continue to fly in the memory of many.
