When Rock 'n Roll Came to Trinidad

Interesting nostalgic tidbit from a bygone era, from Mr. Nat King Cole (what a voice and style he had) who sang "Mr. Cole Won't Rock & Roll". Now here is Mr. Cole trying his hand at singing calypso with Harry Belafonte, who "begged, borrowed or stole" (depending on the point-of-view) the song from Lord Melody. That controversial debate among practitioners of the art-form and fans alike continued for many years. The rivalry between calypsonians provoked many a showdown with spirited extempo-styled picong. In their company as a young lad, I was related by my father and uncles and other grown-ups, a "story" that the popular American film-star Robert Mitchum used to make frequent trips to T&T where he often limed and hung-out carousing by drinking, smoking, fighting (and indulging) on the Broadway, Marine Square, South Quay in downtown Port-of-Spain. He became friends with many of the calypsonians of the day then made a calypso album, which was released on the Capitol Records label. One of the results of which was that copyright royalties started being paid-back to the artists who created and sung the songs.

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Andre-Roger Dellevi November 10, 2019 at 10:41am

Interesting nostalgic tidbit from a bygone era, from Mr. Nat King Cole (what a voice and style he had) who sang "Mr. Cole Won't Rock & Roll". Now here is Mr. Cole trying his hand at singing calypso with Harry Belafonte, who "begged, borrowed or stole" (depending on the point-of-view) the song from Lord Melody. That controversial debate among practitioners of the art-form and fans alike continued for many years. The rivalry between calypsonians provoked many a showdown with spirited extempo-styled picong. In their company as a young lad, I was related by my father and uncles and other grown-ups, a "story" that the popular American film-star Robert Mitchum used to make frequent trips to T&T where he often limed and hung-out carousing by drinking, smoking, fighting (and indulging) on the Broadway, Marine Square, South Quay in downtown Port-of-Spain. He became friends with many of the calypsonians of the day then made a calypso album, which was released on the Capitol Records label. One of the results of which was that copyright royalties started being paid-back to the artists who created and sung the songs.

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