I remember in the late 80s a sponsor severing ties with a popular Steel orchestra and another sponsor came to their rescue, Over the years the band became more popular and very successful with its new sponsor. Do the former sponsor regrets its decision to drop the Steel Orchestra or they just say its business as usual why cry over spill milk or you win some and you loose some.?
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earl richards, I don't think it matters to a sponsor after they sever ties with a band, if you look at it they still get some advertisement for free because the public would say, so and so used to sponsor them before, indirectly they are calling the name of the sponsor.
Exodus stands out to me as a progressive thinking Steel Orchestra, their management team have to be acknowledge for their leadership in redefining how the Steel Orchestra is seen today. I credit Peter Blood for his description of their Pan yard, calling it a Pan amphitheater.
A good time for a review...PanFusion - Pan Cents
From 1993 documentary on the steelband movement.
Earl: Calypsonians did not sing praise songs to the STEELBAND until Kitchener came back and sang "THE STEELBAND MUSIC IS VERY SWEET" in 1963. After that, every Calypsonian start singing about PAN. So every time after that I heard a CALYPSONIAN singing a PRAISE SONG to the PAN -- I considered it PIMPING THE PAN.
Kitchener, himself, was slightly guilty of the crime but since he was the originator even before he went to England -- I forgive him to some extent.
You must know by now that CALYSPO is MY THING and PAN is like a RED-HEADED step-child to me.
One of the first calypsonian to sing about the Steelbands was Lord Blakie who won the road march title in 1954 and 1962 with "Steel band Clash" and "Maria'' respectively, Weather or not he was praising the Steel bands it was a Calypso about Steel bands.
Kitchener is the first to write a calypso about steelband he said in a radio interview, naming it as "Beat of the Steelband" in 1944:
"Port of Spain was catching afire/ when the steelband was crossing the Dry River/Zigilee, leader of the ping-pong/ Had people jumping wild in the town."
Kitchener The Beat of The Steelband