Percival Oblington (April 1930 – 5 February 2011), better known as Mighty Striker, or simply Striker, was a

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 ...

ian calypsonian who twice won the

Calypso King The Calypso Monarch (originally Calypso King) contest is one of the two major annual calypso competitions held in Trinidad as part of the annual carnival celebrations. History While Trinidad's carnival has its origins in the 18th century, a sing ...

title.

Career

Percival Oblington was born in 1930 in

D'Abadie D'Abadie is a community located in the Tunapuna-Piarco regional corporation in Trinidad and Tobago. Its population is 5,827 people. Some businesses include Arawak Chicken Factory, D'Abadie Discount Hardware Limited and PriceSmart Wholesale Club. ...

, Trinidad, the son of a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

.Bowman, Wayne (2011)
Calypso icon Striker dies
, '' Trinidad Express'', 7 February 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2013Dunn, Geoffrey (2011)
The Mighty Striker takes his final count
, '' Trinidad Express'', 16 February 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2013 He initially made a living as a coconut husker along with fellow calypsonians

Mighty Cypher Mighty Cypher aka Lord Cypher was a Trinidadian calypsonian who won the Calypso King title at the 1967 carnival. Known as the 'Clown Prince of Calypso', Cypher was an established calypsonian since the 1940s and appeared on the Cook Records compila ...

, Lord Montgomery, and his cousin Lord Eisenhower. He began performing in 1945 and became a professional calypso singer in 1949, performing as 'Striker' and 'Mighty Striker', a name given to him by his mentor Mighty Cypher in reference to his exploits as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

in his youth. In 1957 he reached the final of the Calypso King contest held as part of Trinidad's carnival, finishing third behind

Lord Pretender Lord Pretender (8 September 1917 – 22 January 2002) was the stage name of Aldric Farrell, M.O.M., H.B.M. a calypsonian vocalist born on the island of Tobago widely acknowledged to be a "master" of extempo, a lyrically improvised form of calyp ...

and the

Mighty Spoiler Theophilus Philip (23 March 1926 – 24 December 1960), better known as Mighty Spoiler, was a Trinidadian calypsonian. Spoiler's career began in 1946 (see 1946 in music) at the House of Lords Tent, and he soon became one of the most popular ...

. He won the title the following year with "Don't Blame The PNM" (Striker was a supporter of Eric Williams'

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...

party) and "Can't Find A Job To Suit Me", and became the first person to retain the title in 1959 with "Ban The Hula Hoop" and "Comparison".Regis, Luois (1998) ''The Political Calypso: True Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago, 1962-87'', University Press of Florida, , p. xThompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 5 He finished third in 1960 behind Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody and feeling that he had been robbed of a third title did not enter the contest again. In 1965 he won the 'Buy Local Calypso' competition, a contest introduced by the country's government. Striker continued to perform regularly in the Kaiso Karavan calypso tent. By the late 1970s his popularity had faded and he worked as a taxi driver. He returned to performance in 2002 for the documentary ''

Calypso Dreams Calypso refers to: * Calypso (mythology), a nymph who, famously in Homer's ''Odyssey'', kept Odysseus with her on her island of Ogygia for seven years. * Calypso (nymphs), other nymphs called Calypso. Calypso may also refer to: Books * "C ...

'', which included one of his best known songs, "Grandfather's Clock". Oblington researched the history of calypso, with his book ''The True History of Calypso'' published in 2000. His last performance was in July 2010 at the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism's NAPA FEST. He died on 5 February 2011, aged 80, after suffering from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

.Rampersad, Joan & Persad, Seeta (2011)
‘Mighty Striker’ dies at 81
, '' Trinidad and Tobago Newsday'', 8 February 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2013

Career

References

See Also