Yellow Bird remains one of the most enigmatic pieces ever played on the steelpan. Despised by many in the pan community it continues to be a source of controversy -joy for some and pain for others.
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Now listen to "the original" created by the originators of the cultural art form, calypso from my home and native land, Trinidad & Tobago to understand the difference. Lord Melody - Booboo Man / Mama Look a Boo Boo
Harry did pay "royalties" (some still insists begrudgingly) to some calypsonians back then. He felt that he was was promoting "calypso" on behalf of his fellow artists in the Caribbean by using his popularity and platforms to favour it further with his own flavour.
Robert Mitchum (the famous actor) was another artist and "bon vivant" who personally knew many of the calypsonians from his clandestine and frequent visits to T&T to carouse, drink and lime, particularly on Marine Square > Broadway > Independence Square, Brian Lara Promenade.
With a twist, he in fact recorded a calypso album not so much to pay homage to the art form he was familiar with, but more so to establish the payment of royalties directly to the artists whose music he covered by licensing agreements.
As far as I'm concerned, the composer should always own the intellectual property rights for what he creates, regardless of the source of inspiration, spiritual or otherwise as some would suggest otherwise. It's only just that they be paid.
Bryan Parris > Andre-Roger DelleviOctober 19, 2011 at 11:13pm
Wow! This Yellow Bird thing has unleashed a hailstorm of (previously) unknown fact about kaiso and caribbean folksongs. This can only be a good thing.
lady raygun > Bryan ParrisOctober 20, 2011 at 4:38am
Remember that Harry Belafonte was only the singer, it was Irving Burgie who was his songwriter. Also "Yellow Bird" remains within copyright - it is still owned by the Americans, but "Choucounne" is by now public domain.
The problem with calypso was that in Caribbean society music was regarded as a public property owned and sung by all. Many tunes were reused and reused year after year with new words. It was only when it became fashionable in USA and Europe where music is considered the property of the composer and "owned" by them, with the accompanying financial rewards (very welcome to the usually not-too -wealthy calypsonians) that these problems arise. Lionel Belasco and his singer did not "compose" L'Annee Passe" (Rum And Coca Cola) it was an old song from the French Caribbean, but he established copyright and both earned substantial sums from "Rum and Coca Cola". The USA system of composers getting rich benefitted those like Belasco, Burgie and Belafonte, because they saw how to use the USA system to their advantage, Nowadays we all seem to follow the USA/European idea that the composer is revered and rewarded with money and status and music no longer "belongs" to the people as it did in the Caribbean and other parts of the world such as Africa.
lady raygun > lady raygunOctober 20, 2011 at 4:40am
Sara - that is really interesting about Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - it was one of my favourite songs as a 3 year old! Are there any records of it in its original form? Or sheet music? What was its original title? Any more information would be great!
BY the way, "St. Thomas", another much requested calypso flavored jazz tune, attributed to saxophonist Sonny Rollins, is another Caribbean song which somehow "went astray", because Mr. Rollins simply took a song he heard in the Bahamas and claimed it as his. And the rest is history.
Back in the late '70's, I was playing with a Hatian dance band, known as "Jet-X", in Brooklyn and together with Taboo Combo we used to do the haitian party cirquit all over the East Coast.
One night after rehearsal, I started playing Yellow Bird", in a slow, solo jazz piano style, on my double seconds and all the guys wanted to know where I learned to play "Choucoune". I started to argue with them, saying that the correct name was Yellow Bird, and that it was a Trini folk song, but they managed to convince me otherwise. I just had to believe them, even though all I had to go on was their word.
But I have always kept that incident in the back of my mind, hoping to one day get more info on the subject. This article seemed to have been well researched.
Ah yes -many folk remark when we play Yellow Bird that it was the theme song for - was it Northeast Airlines? making it a very nostalgic melody today for those who traveled to the Caribbean in those days.
EDUCATIONAL and ENLIGHTENING. There has been soooo much Afro Caribbean Music Hijacked and flasely claimed by others who profit and benefit from the proceeds. I wonder if many of us are getting angry enough to somehow start a movement for reparations to the countries or the composers (decendants too) of those stolen works. Intelectual property rights is big business and big $$$. Remember the classic case of George Harrison who stole the Chiffons song and put new words to it??? (My Sweet Lord) paddy corea
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Choucoune (Ti zwezo) - Johanne Harrelle
Harry did pay "royalties" (some still insists begrudgingly) to some calypsonians back then. He felt that he was was promoting "calypso" on behalf of his fellow artists in the Caribbean by using his popularity and platforms to favour it further with his own flavour.
Robert Mitchum (the famous actor) was another artist and "bon vivant" who personally knew many of the calypsonians from his clandestine and frequent visits to T&T to carouse, drink and lime, particularly on Marine Square > Broadway > Independence Square, Brian Lara Promenade.
With a twist, he in fact recorded a calypso album not so much to pay homage to the art form he was familiar with, but more so to establish the payment of royalties directly to the artists whose music he covered by licensing agreements.
"In their own words"
https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/video/video/show?id=2534462:Video:19...
Remember that Harry Belafonte was only the singer, it was Irving Burgie who was his songwriter. Also "Yellow Bird" remains within copyright - it is still owned by the Americans, but "Choucounne" is by now public domain.
The problem with calypso was that in Caribbean society music was regarded as a public property owned and sung by all. Many tunes were reused and reused year after year with new words. It was only when it became fashionable in USA and Europe where music is considered the property of the composer and "owned" by them, with the accompanying financial rewards (very welcome to the usually not-too -wealthy calypsonians) that these problems arise. Lionel Belasco and his singer did not "compose" L'Annee Passe" (Rum And Coca Cola) it was an old song from the French Caribbean, but he established copyright and both earned substantial sums from "Rum and Coca Cola". The USA system of composers getting rich benefitted those like Belasco, Burgie and Belafonte, because they saw how to use the USA system to their advantage, Nowadays we all seem to follow the USA/European idea that the composer is revered and rewarded with money and status and music no longer "belongs" to the people as it did in the Caribbean and other parts of the world such as Africa.
Back in the late '70's, I was playing with a Hatian dance band, known as "Jet-X", in Brooklyn and together with Taboo Combo we used to do the haitian party cirquit all over the East Coast.
One night after rehearsal, I started playing Yellow Bird", in a slow, solo jazz piano style, on my double seconds and all the guys wanted to know where I learned to play "Choucoune". I started to argue with them, saying that the correct name was Yellow Bird, and that it was a Trini folk song, but they managed to convince me otherwise. I just had to believe them, even though all I had to go on was their word.
But I have always kept that incident in the back of my mind, hoping to one day get more info on the subject. This article seemed to have been well researched.
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