“Crazy”
Edwin Ayoung or “Crazy” - born Edwin Ayoung in 1944, on Maraval Road in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad of a Venezuelan mother and Trinidadian father of Chinese descent, was - in his youth - as skilled and competitive in his country’s national pastime of cricket, as he has been now for years as a world-travelled musician, performing artist and composer.
Though dubbed The “Loveable Lunatic of Soca,” Ayoung has time and again not been given his due in his native land, yet remains one of the most commercially successful artists on the international soca scene. An experimentalist, he pioneered the unique musical genre known as Parang Soca and played a leading role in promoting Chutney Soca. Crazy would go on to sing several monster smashes in parang soca, including Cold Sweat, Muchacha and Homemade Wine.
A brilliant double-entendre artiste at its best - Edwin Ayoung has delighted in pushing the envelope in his humorous and witty manner. With songs like Paul, Nani Wine and Suck Meh Soucouyant to name but three, this illustrious performer remains a staple in the music world.
He’s been ranked in the top three for Trinidad & Tobago’s annual national calypso monarch competition - his best showing being at position two with Dustbin Cover. He captured the prestigious Road March title (the ‘tune for the road’ during Carnival Monday and Tuesday) in 1985 with Suck Meh, Soucouyant.
Replies
The ONE THING that CRAZY IS NOT ... is a COMPOSER.
Just because a CALYPSONIAN sings a SONG does not mean that HE COMPOSED IT.
Frankly, I do not believe that SPARROW ever wrote a CALYPSO (in his life) and I am even MORE CERTAIN that CRAZY never wrote one.
Everybody PUT DOWN NAP HEPBURN back in the SIXTIES because it was publicly known that he did not write his songs (which was considered TABOO at the time) ... while, secretly, very few of the CALYPSO SINGERS were writing their own songs. The man that confuses me most is GYPSY ... I have always wondered if he wrote his own songs ... but I don't have any evidence to the contrary. But if I had to bet -- I would say NO. Thin line there!!!
As CHALKDUST sang in QUACKS and INVALIDS: "Every time they make a hit/is MERCHANT or DEVIGNES who compose it. And he was in the HEART OF THE BUSINESS, EH. And so was REGINALD JOSEPH with whom I personally did a series of interviews IN BROOKLYN. And he wrote NUMEROUS SONGS for SPARROW and other CALYPSONIANS.
When it comes to CALYPSO COMPOSERS: I have the UTMOST RESPECT for MERCHANT and PREACHER.
One time PREACHER came out here to perform and he did a MEDLEY of all the songs he had composed on a stage in BERKELEY. I was mesmerized at his DELIVERY and DICTION and PHRASING and when I left that show I was convinced that he had COMPOSED every one of the 20 songs he sang that night (popularized by other BIG NAME SINGERS in the BUSINESS).
I LOVE CALYPSO -- ESPECIALLY CALYPSO LYRICS!!!
I must mention LORD FUNNY in this context. I truly believe that he WROTE ALL HIS SONGS. And he is probably the most UNDERRATED Calypso Artiste in the history of the GENRE. I went down to LA one time and this guy had FUNNY'S entire collection and I was BLOWN AWAY listening to his catalog as a UNIT.
Did I say: I LOVE CALYPSO!!!
A NOTED COMPOSER...