Emile Straker

Sir Charles Emile Straker (31 March 1936 – 19 June 2026) was a Barbadian musician and songwriter and a onetime lead singer of the Calypso group, The Merrymen. In 2000, Straker was one of 100 Barbadians awarded a Barbados Centennial Honour. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year's Honours and, in 2019, he was made a Knight of the Order of St Andrew.

Early life and education

Straker was born in Bridgetown, Barbados on 31 March 1936. He grew up in Queen’s Park and attended Harrison College. When he was 20, he joined the Purina Boys Steel Band. He also played with a group called the Calypso Bandits, some of which were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London England.

The group played around the world including in Bermuda at the Tennis Stadium on 16 April 1966, in London at Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall, in Toronto at the Skydome, in the United States at Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden, and in the Netherlands.

The band broke up temporarily in 2013.

In 2023, Straker published his autobiography, "My Island and Me".

Until his death in 2026, Straker lived in Barbados with late-stage dementia. Straker died on the morning of 19 June 2026, at the age of 90.

Awards and honours

Straker was awarded an honorary doctorate in law from the University of the West Indies. The orator described him as "a legend from the world of Barbadian music, a man whose unforgettable songs have formed a soundtrack to our lives for nearly fifty years, a man who has done more than anyone else to bring the very best of Caribbean folk arts and culture to a global audience".

In 2019, Straker was knighted at a ceremony at the Kensington Oval in Barbados by the Governor-General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason.