The ‘Warlord’ is gone

Carlton Joseph better known in the calypso world as Lord Blakie or “Warlord” succumbed to his illness early yesterday morning. Blakie was ailing from cancer for the past few years. His wife of just over a year Joycey, told Newsday yesterday: “It hit me so hard. I knew he was fighting the cancer to the end, but after taking in yesterday morning and watching him in the hospital I knew he couldn’t make it, but I prayed.” Joycey said Blakie was in such high spirits at the hospital on Thursday that in the presence of five female members of his family she related: “He said ‘I have all my queens around me and I am the king. I want all of us to gather on Sunday.’ So I asked him for what? He said to us ‘when we come we will know.’

After the others left the room he called me back and told me ‘I ent giving up for nothing.’”  Blakie passed away just before 6 on Friday morning. He was 71. Blakie’s trademark laugh and baton is what his fans had come to know him by and will no doubt be missed. Blakie won the National Road March title for the frist time in 1954 with “Steelband Clash,” then again in 1962 with the ever popular “Maria.” He even played a part in a film last year titled Calypso Dreams. How-ever, when many had put him out of their thoughts, in 1994 Blakie teamed up with Black Prince and the late Zandolie in a concert produced by  David Rudder, Robin and Robert Foster at the Mas Camp Pub. The audience response “was phenomenal” as demonstrated in the recording of Raw Kaiso 1.

Rudder described the Raw Kaiso concert back then as “a musical story of three men, two of whom he said he grew up on in the early sixties in Trinidad. Blakie, the street-smart, urban warlord,  Zando the country’s gigolo and Black Prince, who Rudder regarded as the wandering troubadour, the blues singer. “He is a piece of the other two in the sense that he captures the grassroots soul of both urban and country Trinidad,” Rudder said then. At that concert too, it so happened that another member of the entertainment world, Saxophonist Frankie Francis, who also died on Thursday was part of the musical cast, along with the likes of Leo Stephenson, Calliston Pantor, Barry Howard, Winston Matthews,  Al-bert Bushe Jr and Tony Voisin. Background vo-cals came from Rudder, Winston “Gypsy’ Peters and Mystic Prowler.

TUCO’s General Secretary Luthalo Massimba said yesterday: “TUCO is saddened by the loss of Blakie. His contribution to the calypso world is really a tremendous one not only on stage but off stage. “We would like to extend our condolences to relatives, friends, family and business associates of the Lord Blakie. He gave many a young calypsonian their sobriquets including Stalin and Conqueror and he certainly  will be missed.” Blakie was also the St Thomas Carnival Calypso Monarch in 1977, 1978 and 1979. Other calypsoes sung by Blakie includ “Too Much Smut,” “Send Them Back,” “Simple Calypso,” “Hold De Pu-ssy,” “Trinidad Carnival,” “Arabian Festival,” “True Principle,” “Thanks to the Police,” “Mah Mamma Say,” “Message to Gran-ger”, “Beret Rastaman” and “Capital Punish-ment.” The funeral will be held at the Trinity Cathedral at a date to be announced. Blakie leaves to morn his wife, a sister, two brothers, nine children and several grandchildren.