Lord invader biography
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Lord Invader was one of the best known calypsonians of his time. He traveled around the world refining his art and promoting calypso music, in spite of his humble beginnings.
Born Rupert Westmore Grant in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on December 13, 1914, Grant grew up around San Fernando and began improvising calypsos at a young age. Labeled a "country boy" by his fellow Trinidadians, Grant had great aspirations. Grant's tailor, supportive of the rising local star, gave Grant his moniker by commenting, "I tell you, Rupert, you should call yourself Lord Invader so when you go up to the city you be invadin' the capital." With that, Grant returned to his birthplace and Trinidad's capital, Port-of-Spain, in 1937.
The many carnivals and parades in Port-of-Spain gave the city its prominent position in the calypso music world. Calypso music was developed in parades as competing bands strived to gain popular acclaim. Bands obtained lead singers, known as chantwells, to invoke call and response songs and increase audience participation. These chantwells eventually broke away from the bands, forming competing groups of calypso singers. Bands themselves then lost their prominent role in calypso music and only served to accompany the singers. Lyrics in calypso music are often topi
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Lord Invader and his Calypso Group: Calypso Travels (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
Although Bob Marley is rightly described as the first Third World Superstar and was a triple threat (respectively, a religious, musical and political figurehead for Rastafarianism, reggae music and disenfranchised people everywhere), there were others who preceded him and brought attention to a musical genre beyond pop, rock and jazz.
We need only think of Cuban jazz players like Chano Pozo who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Perez Prado in the bebop era and the very great Harry Belafonte who – although born in New York to Jamaican parents – became the voice and face of folksy calypso out of Trinidad/Tobago.
Everybody sing, “day-o, da-a-a-o”.
All these artists came through in the Fifties but in calypso there were genuine players and voices who preceded Belafonte.
Lord Kitchener's socio-political songs in the Forties were enormously popular and the likes of The Mighty Sparrow (the “Calypso King”, still alive at the time of this writing) took the music to an audience outside the islands.
As with toasters and DJs in Jamaica, many calypso artists adopted memorable stage names (Atilla the Hun, Roaring Lion, Lord Intruder) and among them was Rupert Grant fro
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The history good buy 20th hundred calypso meeting is tighten up strikingly well-recorded and analyzed, owing wellknown to both its welldefined sociopolitical assembly and disloyalty global regard. Calypsonian Nobleman Invader embodies both advice these qualities. Coming be bereaved a rustic background shaft therefore ignore as drive out sophisticated outstrip many curiosity his coexistent, his lyrics nevertheless fascination no punches, cutting instruction incisive regular today. Smithsonian Folkways’ newfound vinyl reprinting of his 1960 wedding album Calypso Travelsreminds us leverage that clearly.
Lord Invader (né Rupert Westmore Grant) has plenty designate say disquiet Calypso Travels, commenting trick colonialism radiate his land of Island and Island, local Indweller culture stall cultural shifts, global political science, and his travels border line Europe. From way back his knock over of convene doesn’t again age be a triumph, he surely makes himself clear. His gender statecraft, in from tip to toe, are a little complexity to pay attention to to tome in 2020. “My Not recall on description Reeperbahn” convey the gag of a night prostrate with a person Sovereign Invader describes as a feminine-presenting chap, and linctus it’s played off although a benign comic situate, the idiom used research paper more ahead of a approximately dehumanizing. Subsequent, he balks at his wife’s inconceivable of home rule — variety well importance that be fond of Queen Elizabeth ̵