Winsford Devine (15 August 1943 – 22 June 2021), known by the sobriquet Joker, was a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

songwriter who composed over 500 calypsos. He worked with The

Mighty Sparrow Slinger Francisco ORTT CM OBE (born July 9, 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful calyp ...

for 17 years, writing many of Sparrow's hits including ''Slave'', ''Philip, My Dear'', and ''Marajhin''. Devine was also the composer of ''Progress'' which has been ranked among the best calypsos ever.

Early life

Devine was born in Quarry Village, Morne Diablo, in south Trinidad, the first of five children born to Eurice Des Vignes and Clifford Cooper. An error on his birth certificate recorded his mother's name as Devine, which resulted in this spelling of his name. He was taught to play the

cuatro Cuatro is Spanish language, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4 (number), number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see cuatro (Puerto Rico), ...

by his father, a parandero, and joined a steelband led by his cousin at the age of nine. Devine attended Morne Diablo Roman Catholic School and San Fernando Technical Institute, but dropped out after his first year because he was unable to afford the fees. In 1968 he moved to Nelson Street, 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 ...

, where his skill with

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

led Mervyn “Bolong” Ross to invite him to join Blue Diamond Steelband. After hearing him writing songs, Ross introduced Devine to Syl Taylor, the manager of the Original Young Brigade

Calypso Tent Calypso tents are venues in which calypsonians perform during the Carnival season. They usually are cinema halls, community centers, or other indoor buildings which have seating and stage arrangements to host the entertainers, guests and patrons; ...

who purchased Devine's entire collection of songs for TT $365. Lord Blakie (Carlton Joseph) was the first to sing one of Devine's compositions, ''Road March Recipe'', which was later recorded with Joseph credited as the composer.

Musical work

Devine was a self-taught musician who composed over 500 songs (over 600 according to reporting in the ''

Stabroek News The ''Stabroek News'' is a privately owned newspaper published in Guyana. It takes its name from ''Stabroek'' , the former name of Georgetown, Guyana. It was first published in November 1986, first as a weekly but it later changed to a daily prin ...

''). His compositions include ''Progress'' (recorded by King Austin) which historian Kim Johnson described as "what many consider is one of the greatest calypsoes" and which the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians' Organisation (TUCO) declared "the song of the last millennium".

Collaboration with Sparrow

For a period of 17 years starting in 1971, Devine wrote for calypsonian The Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco). Sparrow won the

Calypso Monarch 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 singi ...

competition four times in this period. Calypsos written by Devine for Sparrow include ''Capitalism Gone Mad'', ''Phillip My Dear'', ''Saltfish'', ''Marajhin'' and ''Survival''. Devine and Sparrow disputed authorship of several of Sparrows hits including ''Drunk and Disorderly'' (which Devine said he wrote as ''Drunkard Calypso'') and ''Doh Back Back'' (which Devine said he wrote as ''Bajan''). Historian Claudius Fergus reports that "many of Sparrow’s best calypsos, including “Slave,” were composed by...Devine" and others were co-written by Devine and Sparrow.

Awards and honours

Devine was awarded the

Hummingbird Medal The Hummingbird Medal is a state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago, instituted in 1969. The medal is awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state in any field, or acts of conspicuous gallantry or other outstanding humane action. Th ...

(Silver) for his service to music and the arts in 1998. He was named Honorary Distinguished Fellow in the Arts by the

University of Trinidad and Tobago The University of Trinidad and Tobago, also known as UTT, is a state owned university in Trinidad and Tobago established in 2004. Its main campus, currently under construction, will be located at Wallerfield in Trinidad. Presently, its campuses a ...

in 2016 and received an

Honorary Doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of Letters from the

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine is a public research university in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system, which are ranked 1st in the Caribbean. It is ra ...

in 2017.

References

External links

* - Interview with Winsford Devine. {{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Winsford 1943 births 2021 deaths Trinidad and Tobago songwriters Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal