Denyse Plummer

Denyse Burnadette Kirline Plummer (8 November 1953 – 27 August 2023) was a Trinidadian calypsonian and gospel singer. The child of a white father and a black mother, she initially faced significant prejudice in a genre traditionally seen as Afro-Caribbean, but was eventually recognised as a leading calypso performer. In 2001, she won the Calypso Monarch title with her songs "Heroes" and "Nah Leaving".

Early life Denyse Plummer was born in 1953 to a middle-class family in Saint James. Her father was Dudley "Buntin" Plummer, a white Trinidadian, and her mother was Joan Plummer, a light-skinned Afro-Trinidadian. Her father played guitar in a folk band called Le Petite Musicale. She attended Holy Name Preparatory and Holy Name Convent in Port of Spain. While attending Holy Name Convent, she sang in the folk choir, and won several youth music competitions. She also participated in several television talent competitions as a child and teenager.

Career

Early career and calypso debut (1977–1985) Plummer held several white-collar jobs until her mid-thirties, including working as a computer operator at Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. She then started performing pop music at nights at small bars and hotels throughout Trinidad and Tobago.

Plummer was enlisted by Phase II Pan Groove steelband arranger Len "Boogsie" Sharpe in 1986 to sing his band's Panorama entry. Also in 1987, she earned third place in the National Calypso Monarch competition. In 1988, she made it to the National Calypso Monarch finals and also won the National Women's Action Committee (NWAC) Calypso Queen crown with "Woman Is Boss", a song she co-wrote with Sharpe and Reynold Howard. "Nah Leaving" has been described by calypso scholar Hope Munro as a "nation-building calypso", and it tackles societal concerns including racism and violence. Plummer believed that her role as a calypsonian was to promote and celebrate Trinidadian culture, as well as to invite tourism. She said, "The job of every calypsonian is to go out there and do something for the [Trinidadian] economy by bringing foreigners into here, spreading the news of our culture, of our Carnival, when it happens, and bring them by the thousands in February." She released songs including "Highest Praise", "Safe on the Inside" (with Michelle Sylvester), and "Cyah Leave Him", a worship rendition of her 2001 hit "Nah Leaving". after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Victory (1990) Carnival Killer (1991)