Sparrow, not Rose, the first Calypso Monarch

That is inaccurate and I have written several letters to the press over the years to correct it. Despite this, journalists who should know better repeat it over and over again.

The title change came in 1976 not 1978. Chalkdust was the first Calypso Monarch and successfully defended the title in 1977.

The reason for the name change in 1976 was simply because Singing Francine almost won the competition in 1975 with just one point separating herself and Kitchener, the eventual winner.

Singing Francine, therefore, became the first female to come closest to winning the title Calypso King. In this way she broke her own record having placed third in 1972 and 1973.

Francine went on to win the coveted Calypso King of the World title in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in April 1975. It was a competition that brought together the finest bards in the Caribbean.

Sparrow won this title on several occasions and so began his adoption of the said title as part of his persona.

Given Francine’s achievement in 1975, the CDC decided to change the name Calypso King in 1976. Simple reference to the newspapers in our archives would verify all this.

Let us give credit where credit is due. Saying that another female pioneer in the calypso arena was responsible for the change would not take away from Calypso Rose’s contribution in any way.

Both women stand as icons in the calypso arena. They have different styles and vocal ranges but both have made sterling contributions in pioneering the female voice in the calypso arena.

The narrative has gone as far as being repeated in the citation given by the University of the West Indies when it conferred an honorary doctorate on Calypso Rose two years ago.

Can you imagine an inaccurate narrative being repeated at the highly respected bastion of research in the region? It just goes to show the power of repetition even when what is being repeated is flawed.

It is high time that the media as well as the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation itself set the record straight once and for all so that this inaccuracy will not find its way into the annals of our calypso history.

Miguel Browne Woodbrook, PoS