Lord Burgess

Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music. He composed 34 songs for Harry Belafonte, including eight of the 11 songs on the Belafonte album Calypso, the first album of any kind to sell one million copies. To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

Biography Burgie was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia. Burgie joined the U.S. Army in World War II, and served in Burma, China and India, where he started playing guitar and singing. After the war, he studied at the Juilliard School and met Harry Belafonte in 1950. His death was announced by Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the nation's Independence Day Parade.