The Mighty Sparrow flaps his last

I was saddened to read the news that Mighty Sparrow checked out on Sunday, 27th September after a short illness. Arguably the mightiest of all calypsonians died peacefully in New York aged 91 and surrounded by his family, always a “consummation devoutly to be wished”.

Born in Grenada, Slinger Francisco fled the nest with his mother for Trinidad and Tobago to re-join his father. He grew up in Laventille, a suburb of Port of Spain (granted an affectionate place in this household thanks to Taj Mahal’s version of pan-man Robert Greenidge’s “Salsa de Laventille“). He acquired his initial moniker, “Little Sparrow”, as a youthful performer who liked to move around when he sang – which prompted older performers to ask “Why don’t you just sing instead of moving around like a little sparrow?” He changed his stage name to the more boastful version deemed necessary perhaps to compete with the Lords of calypso. He won the first of his eight “Calypso King” titles in 1956 for his gently scurrilous song about prostitution, “Jean and Dinah”, which celebrated the departure of U.S. troops from the island and became an international hit. The rest as they say… He recorded countless albums, some in the early part of his career for RCA Victor, culminating in Live at 85!, recorded in Joe’s Pub in New York in 2020.

Perhaps Sparrow’s zenith in terms of his international fame and acclaim was the 1960s and ’70s and I can recommend the Strut label’s marvellous double CD compilation Sparrowmania! Wit, Wisdom & Soul from the King of Calypso 1962-1974. It contains many of his best-loved numbers including “Jook For Jook”, “Big Bamboo” and the deeply ironic “Sparrow Dead”. His calypso (and later soca) gem “Ten to One is Murder” was a reference to an incident in which Sparrow allegedly shot a man. If there was any truth in it, then the man’s wit and wisdom might be demonstrated by his embracing of Christianity and becoming a 7th Day Adventist in his final days before the demise of his soul. Let us salute “The Calypso King of the World”.

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