Calypso Through the Years - Part Two
Some of the early push toward 'localizing' the calypso came indirectly from that remarkable man, James Alexander Belgrave, who functioned from his own vision and generous spirit as a one-man department of social welfare, culture, youth and sport all rolled in one. He had, by 1951, formed the Boys Club and he had always been involved in organizing concerts, which seemed to have been quite popular. The youth in the Boys Club used to sing the Trinidadians calypsoes and Belgrave encouraged them to compose their own instead. Some took his advice and thus planted the seed of truly home-grown calypso, the fruits of which we are reaping today.
Who were these first born-and-bred Saint Lucian calypsonians? There were names like the Mighty Cobra, Mighty Bake, Lord Rock and Roll, the Mighty Session. They spanned the 1950's, a period in which calypso gradually came to be officially integrated into Carnival celebrations. There was a Calypso King competition which was held on Dimanche Gras, the night of the Queen show, on the grounds of the Palm Beach Club. There was nothing like quarter-finals, semi-finals, tents and all that. Any calypsonian who wanted a chance at the crown just registered beforehand and appeared on the night to sing.
What about practice sessions? "Nah, nothing like that", say Owen Charles, the Mighty Cobra, recalling those days. "You go up Palm Beach and just tell the man what' you playing. And they would listen for a while and they would just strum for you".
What about prize money? "You probably would get $20. for taking part, $50 if you won the crown. And this type of prize money was offered at the end of the decade. In 1956, the Carnival Committee gave $10.00 to the winner of the calypso competition and $5.00 to the first runner-up. Calypsoes were being judged by critical music minds such as Hunter J. Francois, a popular pianist then, and Inspector R.A. Beckles of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Band.....
(Full Text available at the Library at the Folk Research Centre)
