Egbert Moore (1904–1981), known as Lord Beginner, was a popular

calypsonian A calypsonian,Definition of CALYPSO
Port-of-Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

: "After attracting attention with his soulful singing in Trinidad and Tobago, Lord Beginner was sent by expatriate Portuguese businessman Edward Sa Gomes to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, along with

Attila The Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...

and

Growling Tiger Neville Marcano (1916–13 May 1993), known as the Growling Tiger, was a Trinidadian calypsonian. Biography Born in Diego Martin, Trinidad, Tiger was originally a boxer who won the Trinidad flyweight championship in 1929.Thompson, Dave (2002), '' ...

, to record for the Port-Of-Spain label in May 1934."Craig Harris
"Artist Biography"
Allmusic. These recordings by Moore with other leading members of Trinidad's "Old Brigade" of calypsonians helped to spark a renaissance of the calypso genre in the 1940s and '50s, and introduce the music to the world. In July 1948, Lord Beginner emigrated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with fellow calypsonians Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) and

Lord Woodbine Harold Adolphus Phillips (15 January 1929 – 5 July 2000), known as Lord Woodbine, was a Trinidadian calypsonian and music promoter. He is regarded by some as the musical mentor of The Beatles, and has been called the "sixth Beatle".Alan Clayso ...

(Harold Philips). They arrived near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on the ''

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'', originally MV ''Monte Rosa'', was a passenger liner and cruise ship launched in Germany in 1930. She was owned and operated by the German shipping line in the 1930s under the name ''Monte Rosa''. During World War II she ...

'', the first of many voyages conveying

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

wishing to start a new life in Britain. Beginner began playing clubs throughout London and was a success, recording for the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label in 1950.

Calypso songs

Lord Beginner signed a recording contract with

in 1950. Two of his more well known calypsos were " Victory Test Match" (including the lyrics "''Cricket, lovely cricket, at Lord's where I saw it''") and "General Election". The first was reputedly devised on the spot following the West Indies cricket team's victory against England at Lord's in 1950, inspiring Beginner and Lord Kitchener to begin a musical march from the ground to

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

followed by dancing spectators. "General Election" was inspired by

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

's victory in the 1950 British general election.

References

External links

* Lord Beginner profile
Lord Beginner recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

.
Profile
espncricinfo.com

espncricinfo.com, 24 June 2006

Calypso songs

References

External links

See Also