Calypso Rose or Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis (born April 27, 1940 in Bethel Village,
Tobago
Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...
) is 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 ...
calypsonian
A calypsonian,Definition of CALYPSO Considered the "mother of calypso", Rose was the first female calypso star and her lyrics frequently address social issues like racism and sexism. Her influence over the calypso music genre forced the renaming of the Calypso King competition to the Calypso Monarch instead. In addition to writing songs about social issues, Rose is also an activist and was given the title of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for former child soldiers along with performing at numerous events for social change. She has received every award available to living artists in the Caribbean.
She currently resides in
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, and regularly returns to
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 ...
in addition to touring.
Early life
Calypso Rose was born under the name Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis. Her mother gave her this name as an homage a respectable army general by the name of Douglas MacArthur. At the beginning of her music career, the singer originally took the name Crusoe Kid but later changed it to Calypso Rose. This occurred when she auditioned for the managers of a calypso tent called Young Brigade. The name Crusoe Kid was meant to signify her origins in Tobago, and a reference to the novel
Robinson Crusoe
''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...
. After hearing her perform, the managers at Young Brigade renamed her Calypso Rose because a rose is considered the mother of all flowers and she considers herself the mother of female calypsonians that came after her. She grew up in a small village on the island of Tobago called Bethel, one of the two Caribbean islands forming
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 ...
and the birthplace of calypso. Rose's earliest memory is her grandmother sitting at the seashore and telling her that no one knows where they would be buried because her grandmother was originally from
French Guinea
French Guinea (french: Guinée française) was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea.
French Guinea was established by France in 1891, ...
and ended up in Tobago because she was kidnapped and sold there. Calypso Rose was the fourth child to be born by her mother, Dorchea Sandy, who had a total of thirteen children, two of which passed away. Her father, Altino Sandy, was a leader of the Spiritual Shouter Baptists. In addition to being a leader in the church, he was also a fisherman and Rose would to go with him every evening to the beach when she lived with him. To this day, Calypso Rose says she drinks seamoss, and eats a lot of fish, ginger, garlic, and banana to give her the energy to put on a powerful show. Her family was very traditional and were initially opposed to her singing in Carnival tents; her father saying that "calypso belongs to the devil" She lived with her parents and her ten siblings in a two-bedroom house until she was nine-years-old, at which point she went to live with her aunt and uncle on the neighboring island of Trinidad. Her aunt, Edith Robinson, was wanting a child so she suggested to her husband that he go to his brother, Altino Sandy, and ask to take care of one of his children. Ms. Edith Robinson came and asked for Rose's permission to adopt her, Rose agreed and went with her to Trinidad. Shortly after arriving in Trinidad, she began to get bullied because she was a 'small islander' which she didn't expect because she thought Trinidad and Tobago was one place.
One of the many struggles that Rose endured was being raped at the age of 18 and ever since then she has not pursued a relationship with a man. Rose came out in an interview as a lesbian at the age of 72 and was married to woman for 17 years by then. Her health was not always in its best form as she faced and survived breast cancer in 1996, stomach cancer in 1998, diabetes, and two heart attacks which was solved by a pacemaker.
Career
When she went to live with her uncle and aunt, her aunt was a big influence on her love of calypsos because of the many records that she owned and the freedom she would give her. Rose then began to write her first calypso called "Glass Thief" which signified her shock to Trinidad after her aunt gave her money and told her to go to the market where she saw boys stealing eyeglasses from someone's face. This was the start of her voicing her opinion on gender equality and later on writing her second calypso that empowered women to dance. Calypso Rose began singing at calypso tents in the 1950s at the age of 15 going against her harsh critics, and had the opportunity to perform in different places from Grenada, St. Vincent to the US Virgin Islands . A large influencer and supporter of Rose was a man named Lord Kitchener who was the first to recognize her as a composer . From 1963 to 1965, she would continue to perform in his tent. She knew Lord Kitchener from the age of 9 and he was known for his influence on many young calypso singers because of the songs he would make. Even with many of the religious elders in Trinidad's disapproval for Rose's participation in calypsos, she was able to win them over with her song "Abide With Me" which is about hurricane Florence that hit Tobago and Grenada in 1964. In 1966 she would perform with a very well known calypsonian in many occasions by the name of 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 caly ...
' (Slinger Francisco). Despite many people's misconceptions, Rose was not the first female calypso singer. However, with her song "Cooperation", she was able to compete outside of Tobago and Trinidad against other male calypsonians and win her first title as Calypso King in the Virgin Islands and win Virgin Island's Road March in the same year. In 1966, she wrote the song "Fire in Meh Wire" that had gone international and was translated into eight different languages, and was the first calypso to run two years in a row at the Trinidad Carnival. With the making of another song called "Tempo", Rose was able to become the first female to win the national Road March title. Soon after, in 1978, she performed "Her Majesty" and "I Thank Thee" and was able to win another national Road March and became the first to win Calypso King which changed to Calypso Monarch because of the successful integration of females in a male-dominated competition. By the mid-1970s Rose had located to Queens, New York. She recorded for the Brooklyn-based calypso labels Straker’s Records and Charlie’s Records, and used the city as a base for international touring. Her 1977 Road March winning song, “Tempo,” was written while riding the New York subway. In 2016 she released a song titled "Calypso Queen" in which she confirms her reign. In 1979 Calypso Rose performed in a concert put on by the Colombia's Caribbean Students' Association and was later reviewed by Robert Palmer (writer) from the New York Times. Palmer tells how powerful she was as a performer including a quote by the master of ceremonies for the evening; "people who will not trust politicians will listen to the common sense commentary of a celebrated calypso singer and song-writer like Calypso Rose".
With Rose's success she was able to work alongside many artists. In 1967, Rose and Bob Marley performed together in the Grand Ballroom in New York City and later they got to perform together once again in Miami. Rose's relationship with Marley was very close that she named him her inspiration. Other music legends that she got to meet are
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Miriam Makeba
Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...
in 1978 when she won Trinidad Road March. Her album "Far From Home" led her to collaborate with French/Spanish singer
Manu Chao
Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his mu ...
who sang three songs from her album 'Leave Me Alone", "Far From Home", and "Human Race". The album was produced by Ivan Duran. The two were first introduced when her manager, Mr. Jean Micheal invited Chao to the Carnival season in 2015 where Calypso Rose recounted that they spoke for 3 hours about music. She gave him an early copy of the album which he later mixed and added in his own vocals. Calypso Rose has continued to collaborate with other artists. One of her recent collaborations was with Machel Montano in a song called "Young Boy". Another one would be with
Kobo Town
Kobo Town is a Juno-winning Canadian Caribbean music group, led by Trinidadian Canadian singer and songwriter Drew Gonsalves. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band blends calypso music with a diverse mix of Caribbean and other musical influences, inc ...
in a song called "Scarborough Girl" in 2018 with home she performed with in 2019, and helped co-write some of her songs from her album "Far From Home". Calypso Rose is still actively writing new music, even telling a reporter that she carries around a tape recorder with her to keep track of her ideas. In October 2019, she released a song titled "Baila Mami" from the new Calypso Rose & Friends EP featuring Nailah Blackman, Lao Ra, Manu Chao, Machel Montano, Patrice, Tim Armstrong & The Interrupters and King Doudou. The song is a mix of Spanish and English encouraging women to break free and dance.
Calypso Rose's music is known for her political and social justice narrative in her music. This influenced a law that was in place in the Caribbean like the exploitation of civil servants in terms of how they were being paid. Her song "No Madam" caused the government of Trinidad and Tobago to insert minimum wage for civil servants. There were other songs like "The Boat is Rocking" which signified a time in which there was a critical local election occurring. Her album "Far From Home" exemplifies the narrative of social and political injustice like her song "I Am African" which is about the black diaspora.
In an interview, Rose said that her two proudest moments of her life was when she was named Calypso Monarch and when she won the French Grammy award, Victoire de la Musique, in Paris in 2017 because of her album "Far From Home".
Alongside her career in music Calypso Rose was a part of many documentaries including "Calypso at Dirty Jim's", and "Calypso Rose, Lioness in the Jungle". "Calypso at Dirty Jim's" was directed by
Pascale Obolo
Pascale Obolo (born 7 January 1967) is a Cameroonian film director and artist.
A graduate of the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français in Paris University of Paris VIII she is noted for her feminist films documenting women in Hip Hop in the F ...
and was produced in 2005 which discusses many Caribbean artists like Mighty Sparrow, Mighty Terror, Bomber, Lord Superior, and Calypso Rose. "Calypso Rose, Lioness in the Jungle" was produced in 2011 which was also made by Pascale Obolo, and it follows Rose's life as a prominent voice and ambassador of Caribbean music.
In 2019, Rose performed at
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey
See also
* Coachell ...
, marking the first time a calypso performer played a full set at the festival. At 78, she became the festival's oldest performer to date.
Discography
* 1969 : ''Queen Of The Calypso World ''
* 1970 : ''Calypso Queen Of The World ''
* 1972 : ''Sexy Hot Pants''
* 1977 : ''Her Majesty Calypso Rose''
* 1977 : ''Action is Tight''
* 1978 : ''Mass Fever''
* 1979 : ''We Rocking For Carnival''
* 1980 : ''Ah Cant Wait''
* 1981 : ''Mass in California''
* 1983 : ''Rose Goes Soca Unlimited''
* 1984 : ''Trouble''
* 1985 : ''Pan in Town''
* 1986 : ''Stepping Out''
* 1987 : ''On Top Of The World''
* 1987 : ''Leh We Punta''
* 1989 : ''Soca Explosion''
* 1990 : ''Soul On Fire''
* 1992 : ''Rosie Doh Hurt Dem''
* 1993 : ''Breaking The Sound Barrier''
* 1993 : ''Soca Diva''
* 2008 : ''Calypso Rose'' (World Village)
* 2016 : ''Far from Home'' (Because Music)
* 2018 : ''So Calypso!'' (Because Music)
Awards and honours
*1978: Award for Unprecedented Achievement by a Calypsonian from the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance of the USAProfile wackradio901fm.com; retrieved November 8, 2014 (archive.org).
*1978: Distinguished Achievement Award for the First Triple Crown Calypso Monarch of the World by The Tobago Benevolent Society
*1979: Award for Magnanimous Contribution to the Culture by the Caribbean Arts and Culture Council
*1982: Rose was named an honorary citizen of
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
in 1982 in recognition of her work to raise the country's international awareness on the cultural front
*1983: Top Female Calypsonian by the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, Washington D.C.
*1985: Best Female Recording Artist Award by C.E.I.
*1986: Recognition for Achievement in Human Progress from the Concerned Citizens of Liberia Organization
*1988: Gratitude and Commendation for the Development of Arts and Culture in Belize by the National Arts Council of Belize
*1988: Appointment as Foremost Ambassador of Culture by the West Indian Day Association
*1989: Humanitarian Award by Sunshine Music Awards
*1989: Recognition for contribution to the steelpan by the Calypso and Steelband Music Awards
*1989: Best Party Song by the Sunshine Music Awards
*1989: Best Female Vocalist by the Sunshine Music Awards
*1990: Nafeita Lifetime Achievement Award
*1991: Outstanding Female in the Field of Music Award by the National Woman's Action Committee
*1991: Most Outstanding Woman in Trinidad and Tobago by the National Women's Action Committee
*1993: Inducted into the Tobago Walk of Fame as a charter member
*1993: Honored by the mayor of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, with the keys to the City
*2011: Africa Festival Lifetime Achievement Award
*2014: Honorary Doctor of Letters - University of the West Indies
*2016: WOMEX Artist of the Year Award
*2017: Calypso Rose's ''Far From Home'' won the World Music Album of the Year contest at the 32nd annual French music award ceremony, Les Victoires de la Musique
*2017: The
Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
, the highest honor in the country
Films
* 1979 - ''Bacchanal Time''
* 1991 - ''One Hand Don't Clap''
* 2011 - ''Calypso Rose: the Lioness of the Jungle''