George Browne (4 May 1920 – 23 March 2007), better known as the Young Tiger, was a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

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 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 ...

, where his childhood was imbued with the African traditions of

Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; and as Jakuta or Badé) is an Orisha, a deity in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin ...

and

Spiritual Baptist The Spiritual Baptist faith is a Christian religion created by enslaved Africans in the plantations they came to in the former British West Indies countries predominantly in the islands of a Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and the ...

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 Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

he relocated to

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 ...

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 Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

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 ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

''. 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 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. 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 Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 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 A calypsonian,Definition of CALYPSO
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), '' ...

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 The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

- and "Mamzelle Josephine". On 31 January 1955, he participated along with fellow calypsonian Kitchener 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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music, Browne recorded with a number of bands, including

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

's Paseo Jazz Band. In the 1960s he pursued an acting career for a time – he played the role of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

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 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

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 Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

venue Club du Faubourg and regularly headlined at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He returned to the UK in the late 1980s, living in retirement in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''.

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 ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 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

Biography

See also

References

External links