George Browne (4 May 1920 – 23 March 2007), better known as the Young Tiger, was a
Trinidadian calypso music
Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...
ian.
Biography
Born Edric Browne in
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 and Tobago, where his childhood was imbued with the African traditions of
Shango and
Spiritual Baptist Shouting, he assumed the name George E. Browne in homage to his mentor and family friend, Richard E. Braithwaite,
Val Wilmer
Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Lif ...
"George Browne" (obituary)
''The Guardian'', 7 April 2007. whose library introduced him to works of black history and activism.
Browne joined a Norwegian tanker at the age of 20 and, after a brief stay in Australia, signed off in Scotland in 1941. After befriending other expatriate Trinidadians in
Glasgow he relocated to
London and began to earn his living as a musician. In 1943 he found luck with a surprise hit, "Christmas Calypso." In 1947–48 he co-founded with Bermudian Ken Gordon (1927–2013, uncle of newsreader
Moira Stuart) the Three Just Men group and toured in
Europe and
North Africa with the trio the following year.
During the same time, Browne worked with a minstrel show headlining
Westminster's Central Hall, later involving himself as a vocalist in the chorus of a
West End revival of the musical ''
Show Boat''. Afterwards, he earned extra money with a small group covering current American pop tunes.
Utilizing the calypsonian tradition of social commentary, while playing with a rhumba band at the posh Orchid Room, he put together an extemporary few bars in honour of guest
Prince Philip. The staff and proprietor were aghast, but when he returned to play the next night, London's upper crust showed up for that very reason. Unfortunately, Browne had scrapped the song after being lectured by an irate manager of the Orchid Room staff. With this success behind him, he toured
Paris, returning to London in 1951. In 1952 Tiger signed to
Melodisc
Melodisc Records was a record label founded by Emil E. Shalit in the late 1940s. It was one of the first independent record labels in the UK and the parent company of the Blue Beat label.
History
Melodisc records was founded by Austrian-born A ...
, the first British company to record calypso music.
He inherited the name Young Tiger from the
calypsonian Growling Tiger when in 1953 he recorded a cover version of Tiger's song "Single Man".
[Jason Ankeny]
"Young Tiger"
Answers.com. Young Tiger's hits dating from that same year include "Calypso Be" and "I Was There" - the latter being his observations about the
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II - and "Mamzelle Josephine". On 31 January 1955, he participated along with fellow calypsonian
Kitchener Kitchener may refer to:
People
* Earl Kitchener, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
** Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British Field Marshal and 1st Earl Kitchener
** Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (1846–1937) ...
in a concert billed as "The First Caribbean Carnival in London" that was held at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
.
[Ray Funk]
"London’s first Caribbean Carnival?"
''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'', 23 June 2015.
Subsequently, embracing
jazz music, Browne recorded with a number of bands, including
Humphrey Lyttelton's Paseo Jazz Band. In the 1960s he pursued an acting career for a time – he played the role of
Jesus Christ in a
passion play produced at the
First World Festival of Negro Arts
The World Festival of Black Arts (French: Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres), also known as FESMAN, is a month-long culture and arts festival that takes place in Africa. The festival features poetry, sculpture, painting, music, cinema, theatre, f ...
in
Senegal in 1966.
Abandoning calypso soon after for jazz, Browne collaborated with longtime friend and mentor
Lauderic Caton
Lauderic Caton (31 August 1910 – 19 February 1999) was a Trinidadian guitarist who settled in Britain in 1940. He was an early proponent of the use of electric guitar in Britain, particularly in jazz music. According to Val Wilmer, "he exercis ...
at the underground
Soho venue Club du Faubourg and regularly headlined at
Oxford and
Cambridge University balls.
In 1970 he gave up music to open a London restaurant and health club with his then wife. When forced to close it because of rent increases, they moved to the United States, where for a time they had restaurants in
Florida and
California.
He returned to the UK in the late 1980s, living in retirement in
Croydon and making ends meet by playing the stock market. His calypso "I Was There (At the Coronation)" featured on the 2002
Honest Jon compilation ''London Is the Place for Me 1: Trinidadian Calypso in London, 1950-1956.'' Following the re-release of his "Calypso Be" on ''London Is the Place for Me, Vol. 2'' (November 2005), Browne played at the
BBC "
Electric Proms
The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms (formerly the BBC Electric Proms) was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006–2010. On 31 January 2011, the BBC announced that the event would be discontinued with immediate effe ...
" festival in 2006, performing a few songs together with the
London is the Place for Me Allstars. Also featured on the Honest Jon's compilations were "African Dream" and "Chicken and Rice". Eventually, Browne returned to London, and on 26 October 2006 played a live set for the release of the calypso retrospective ''London Is the Place for Me, Vol. 2'', bringing his name to a new generation of calypso fans.
Browne died on 23 March 2007, at the age of 82, with obituaries ranging from West Indies music magazines to mainstream press such as ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
'' and ''
Rolling Stone''.
See also
*
Mighty Sparrow
*
Roaring Lion
*
Growling Tiger
*
Lord Kitchener
*
Lord Invader
Lord Invader (Rupert Westmore Grant; 13 December 1914 – 15 October 1961) was a prominent calypsonian with a very distinctive, gravelly voice.
He was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. He became active in calypso in the mid-1930s, and was conside ...
*
Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz
*
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 ...
References
External links
* Val Wilmer
Obituary of Young Tiger ''The Guardian'', 7 April 2007.
* Charlie Gillett
"George Browne aka Young Tiger" The Sound of the World. 29 March 2007. Reprints obituary by Jon Lusk for ''
The Independent'', 10 April 2007.
Overview of Young Tiger by Jason Ankeny.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Tiger
1920 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers
Calypsonians
Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in the United Kingdom