Now, I NEVER TALK about MY INVOLVEMENT IN THE MUSIC on THIS FORUM ... I like TO SNIPE ... seemingly for NO GOOD REASON!!! But ALEXICA gave me a CONCUSSION and it have me being A LITTLE MORE OPEN!!!

And bugs and merrytonestothebone and CECIL HINKSON and PATRICK and odw and some others BREAK ME DOWN. And again I will say that I HATE THE ONE EXAMPLE THING ... but what the hell ... speak now or FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE!!!

Allyuh know how in all the CARIBBEAN POCKETS around the WORLD the EXPATS like to STEP UP and PIMP THE CALYPSO and PAN.

(Lord have mercy, how ah go TELL THIS STORY without being CLAUDE ... that is why I just LIKE TO SNIPE without giving away my position!!!)

Anyways, the LOCAL PAN PLAYERS (Russell: IMMIGRANTS I MEAN) when they play their PAN AND CALYPSO MUSIC in CALIFORNIA does get so much COMPLIMENTS ... ah better stop here ... because this is NOT REALLY my thing TELLING TRUE TRUE STORIES ... but what the hell ALEXICA SET ME FREE ... so ah go tell allyuh the FULL STORY!!!

As ah was saying -- one of the "LOCAL EXPONENTS OF THE ARTFORM" compose a CALYPSO one time and me and another HIGH PROFILE PAN PLAYER out here happened to go over to his house and he played the CALYPSO for us.

Now, allyuh DOH KNOW but I DOH THINK that it have ANYBODY IN THE WORLD who know more about CALYPSO than me ... but we better leave that alone for the moment. Ah have to STAY ON TOPIC and is easy to LOSS ALLYUH.

When ah listen to the CALYPSO -- it was REAL GOOD. So I complimented him HIGHLY ... and said that the song could be A HIT.

Well the PAN PLAYER had his OWN AMBITIONS and he did not like me SO HIGHLY complimenting the song. And I get ah LITTLE VEX -- because ah tell allyuh before ... I FEEL that I know more about CALYPSO THAN ANYBODY.

(That is why ah doh like to get into all these stories eh -- because the PUNCH LINE does take so long to come.)

Anyway, a few weeks later -- ARROW AND GEORGE VICTORY was coming to town to do a BIG SHOW down in THE SOUTH BAY. So ah still vex and ah want to prove a point to the PAN MAN (allyuh know how animated me and ALEXICA is by now) who spurned MY CRITIQUE of the SONG -- so ah tell the COMPOSER to give me ah copy of the song to give me a TAPE and I will take it an PITCH IT TO ARROW -- PERSONALLY.

So ah take the tape and ah drive down to the SOUTH BAY and ah knock on ARROW HOTEL DOOR and ah tell him that ah want him to listen to this song because I like it and I think that he could use it.

ARROW listen to the song -- and as is typical of all CALYPSO SINGERS -- he want it for NEXT TO NOTHING ... so he start NEGOTIATING WITH ME. Well ah tell him RIGHT AWAY that I eh write the song is not my song so here is the NUMBER OF THE COMPOSER.

Next thing you know both ah them get together and they work out a deal and the SONG GOT RECORDED in NEW YORK. Now the song was not great enough to be a MAJOR HIT but it had a certain appeal even if it was a RETHREAD in MANY WAYS. Allyuh know that ah is ah real CRITIC TO THE CORE!!!

About a year later there was a CBS SPECIAL on the CARIBBEAN and CBS used that song as a BACKDROP. Now the song played for about 30 seconds to a MINUTE and my FRIEND (my EX-FRIEND -- i does make a lot of enemies as my life unfolds) got a CHEQUE from CBS for about THREE $350.00 (HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS) in ROYALTY FEES -- for less than a MINUTE OF PLAY.

Allyuh could believe this or NOT BELIEVE THIS -- as they say in ANTIGUA -- meh nuh kay!!! (Me and ALEXCIA -- WE DON'T CARE ... translation!!!)

(Yes, Jeremy deBarry!!! I did live in ANTIGUA, too -- even PLAY MAS with BRUTE FORCE as a young TEENAGER.)

So ah doh know if ALLYUH COULD CONNECT THE COPYRIGHT DOTS (this is kind of like a DUVONE ARRANGEMENT ... a little complex to understand) -- or if ah just CASTING PEARLS.

(Allyuh want to know about the time ah PRODUCE AH SHOW with CALYPSO ROSE and BRING SHE OUT HERE?)

NO MORE TRUE LIFE SENSATIONS FROM CLAUDE GONZALES!!!

And, by the way, that was a STORY ABOUT COPYRIGHT and NOT ABOUT ME ...I just LIKE TO SNIPE!!!

But ah must tell allyuh in THIS ADDENDUM -- ah never even get ah DIME out of that deal ... not even a SWEETIE!!!

You need to be a member of When Steel Talks to add comments!

Join When Steel Talks

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –