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  • More history and perspective...  

    Sparrow’s Jean and Dinah:

  • Glenroy and Andre-Roger,

    Two of you provided some insightful information.

  • Robert Mitchum was a very popular movie star and leading man in the fifties and sixties, and one of my all time  favorites.

    His "tough guy" demeanor was real since he was pretty wild in his youth, even spending some time on a chain gang.

    He was also busted for marijuana in the late forties and did time in jail.

    (I remember seeing a picture of him in his jail uniform, with a mop)

    He fell in love with calypso when filming the WWII drama "Heaven Knows Mr Allison" with Deborah Kerr in Tobago in 1957, when he met calypsonians like Sparrow and Invader.

    Mr Mitchum loved and respected the art form and his album "Calypso -is like so"  , like Belafonte's work, helped to bring the music to a wider audience.

    And, Andre-Roger, I believe your dad and uncles.

    Knowing Mr Mitchum's reputation as a "party animal', I have no doubt he used to "mash up de place".

    Robert Mitchum died in 1997 at 79 after having a lengthy and successful career in the movies, and achieving some success as a singer and composer.

  • Not sure how true the stories are, but from what my father and uncles told me, this was done by actor Robert Mitchum who had an affection for T&T and spent time on visits drinking and carousing in the bars in on Broadway.   He apparently counted many calysonians as friends.  He did some other calypsos not to "white-wash" or cheat black artists, but to actually establish/strengthen royalty payments to the same "native" artist since they were less likely to cheat/challenge a well-known high-profile artist of record as himself.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke5uJ4E6c0Y

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8poH4WgZvI

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mitchum

  • Though slowed down, americanized and tamed, I still hear Sparrow singing. Nice job by Robert Michum though.

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