Mighty Sparrow

Slinger Francisco ORTT CM OBE (born 9 July 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Grenadian born, Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful calypsonians. He has won Trinidad's Carnival Road March competition eight times, Calypso King/Monarch eight times, and has twice won the Calypso King of Kings title.

Early life and career Slinger Francisco was born in the fishing village of Grand Roy, Grenada, West Indies, on 9 July 1935. He moved to Trinidad as a one-year-old with his mother, He grew up in Laventille, a suburb of Port of Spain. He began singing as a small child, but his love of calypso was discouraged while at Newtown Boys Catholic School, where he sang in the choir. |sign = Mighty Sparrow

After a couple of years, he changed his stage name to "Mighty Sparrow". On leaving school, he began working for the government Control Board, but continued to perform calypso, which became the better paid of the two, and his residency at the Lotus Club made him a star locally. A live performance of "Yankees Gone" was included in the album Jump Up Carnival in Trinidad. Sparrow refused to officially participate in the competition for the next three years, but he continued to perform unofficially, even winning another Road March title in 1958 with "P.A.Y.E." He did perform at the 1957 carnival in the Young Brigade Calypso Tent, where the four songs he performed were recorded and later released on the album Calypso Kings and Pink Gin. The rivalry went on for several years. In January 1958, Sparrow, along with longtime rival Lord Melody, travelled to New York City seeking access to the American music audience. Sparrow had already been recording with Balisier and Cook Records, and with Belafonte's help he also began to record for RCA Victor. He did not achieve the success he had hoped for; he said in a 2001 interview, "When nothing happened for me, I went back to England and continued on with my career." and "Mae Mae". He also began recording for his own label, National Recording.

He had his greatest success internationally in the 1970s, starting with the album The Best Of, featuring live recordings in Brooklyn, New York of Sparrow favorites. In 1974, with Van Dyke Parks as producer, he recorded the album Hot and Sweet for Warner Bros. in Miami, and the following year reunited with Byron Lee for the Sparrow Dragon Again album. In 1978, he recorded the album Only a Fool in London for Trojan Records.

Soca

As soca began to supplant calypso in popularity in Trinidad and Tobago during the late 1970s and early 1980s, His last major title came in 1992, with "Both of Them" and "Survival" winning him the Calypso Monarch title. in a 2001 interview, he mentioned that he had been singing and performing a "Gospel-lypso" hybrid. He also did a remake of his "Congo Man" song with fellow Trinidadian Machel Montano on the 2008 Flame On album.

In 2010, Sparrow left the stage in a wheelchair after a performance in Trinidad, and later that year was hospitalised after suffering an inguinal hernia while performing in Maryland. He made a full recovery and continued to tour internationally. In September 2013, he was due to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Trinidad & Tobago consulate in New York, but was admitted to a New York hospital, where he fell into a coma for two weeks before regaining consciousness.

He returned to public performance in January 2014, with a 40-minute set at a bar in Brooklyn, New York. At the end of the year, he was voted "Express Individual of the Year 2014" by the Trinidad Express.

In 2020, he released Live at 85!, a recording from December 2019 of a show at Joe's Pub in New York City.

Lyrics Sparrow's lyrics are famous for being witty, ironic, and ribald. He sings flirtatiously of the attractions of Hispanic women in "Margarita", and of East Indian women in "Marajhin". He tells some outrageously frank tales of sexuality in "Mae Mae", "The Lizard" and "Big Bamboo", and there is humorous commentary on West Indian culture to be found in "Obeah Wedding" and "Witch Doctor". Robert Christgau called his controversial song "Congo Man" "a wildly perverse piss-take on African roots, interracial revenge, interracial sex, male-female relations, and cannibalism". The 1965 song was criticized for its attitudes toward women and Africans, and banned from radio airplay until 1989.

Sparrow also frequently comments on social and political issues in his songs. During his early career he was a supporter of Eric Williams and his People's National Movement (PNM), songs such as "Leave The Damn Doctor Alone" and "William the Conqueror" mentioned Williams directly, while others such as "Federation" (blaming Jamaica for the breakup of the short-lived West Indies Federation), "Our Model Nation" (celebrating Trinidadian independence), and "PAYE" (supporting the PNM's pay-as-you-earn tax system) echoed PNM positions. Sparrow did express discontent in 1957's "No, Doctor, No", but it was comparatively mild, and aimed at holding PNM politicians to their promises rather than replacing them. Sparrow cleverly combined political criticism with sexual innuendo in his mid-1960s song "BG Plantain", which decried the ban levied by PM Williams on imported plantain from British Guiana (BG); plantain, a large banana-shaped vegetable, is a staple of West Indian cuisine, and Sparrow praised the BG plantain as larger, sweeter, and superior to the home-grown Trinidadian variety.

One of his most famous hits, "Dead or Alive" (1979), which achieved international acclaim, addressed the tyranny of rulers such as Idi Amin, the Shah of Iran and other leaders of the era.

His tongue-in-cheek humour is best expressed by his 1970 hit "Sparrow Dead", which addressed the premature rumours of his death, which persist to this day. The lyrics of the song include:

"I hear he have cancer I hear he have yellow fever Something in the bladder And a double dose of leukemia!"

Two gossip mongers gossipin' I stand in a corner listenin' Before I could ask who dey talkin' about A newspaper boy started to shout "Extra! Read all about it! Paper!" "Who killed the Sparrow - nobody know . . . "

Well big mouth Lillian Say de funeral was on television She picky head cousin say that the coffin cost twenty thousand This is why he sell de company To pay de doctor and de burial fee!"

In more recent times, Sparrow continues to incorporate social issues into his music. "Crown Heights Justice" is a plea for peace and understanding in the wake of the 1991 Crown Heights Riot in Sparrow's adopted home of New York City. The themes of peace, tolerance, and concern for the poor show up repeatedly in songs such as "Human Rights" (1981), "Capitalism Gone Mad" (1983), and "This Is Madness" (1995).

Discography

Calypso Carnival 58 (1958), Balisier This Is Sparrow (1958), Balisier Sparrow in Hi Fi (1959), Balisier King Sparrow's Calypso Carnival (1959), Cook Sparrow (1960), RCA The Mighty Sparrow (1960), RCA Sparrow's Greatest Hits (1960), RCA More Sparrow's Greatest Hits (1960), RCA Sparrow Calypso King (1960), RCA Sparrow the Conqueror (1961), RCA The Calypso King of Trinidad (1961), RCA Sparrow Come Back (1962), RCA Calypso Sparrow (1963), RCA The Slave (1963), RCA Sparrow Sings Songs for Lovers (1964), RCA The Outcast (1964), National Christmas with Sparrow (1964), National Congo Man (1965), National "Dan Is The Man" (1965), Wirl Records, Jamaica 7" "Harry And Mama" (1965), Wirl Records, Jamaica 7" Sparrow's Calypso (1965), National Tattooed Lady (1966), National The Calypso Genius (1966), National Spicy Sparrow (1967), Recording Artists Sparrow Calypso Carnival (1968), Recording Artists Sparrow Meets the Dragon (1968), Spalee – aka Only a Fool – Mighty Sparrow & Byron Lee "Jughead" (1969) Tiger, Jamaica 7" (DYNA 868) More Sparrow More (1969), Recording Artists Bang Bang Lulu in New York (1969), Recording Artists Calypso Time (1970), Recording Artists Calypso a la King (1971), Hilary Sparrow Power (1971), Recording Artists Moods of Sparrow (1972), Bestway Hotter Than Ever (1972), Recording Artists Sparrow Spectacular (1973), WIRL Knock Dem Down (1973), Recording Artists Hot and Sweet (1974), Warner Bros. – produced by Van Dyke Parks and Andy Wickham Calypso Maestro (1974), Recording Artists Sparrow Dragon Again (1975), Spalee – Mighty Sparrow & Byron Lee "How You Jamming So" (1976), Tysott, Jamaica 7" (SP 1002 DSR 4048-A-DT) Sparrow vs the Rest (1976), Tysott "Witch Doctor" (1976) Tysott, Jamaica 7" (SP 1002 DSR 4048-B-DT) Boogie Beat 77 (1977), Semp Sparrow NYC Blackout (1977), Charlie's Only a Fool (1978), Trojan Pussycat Party (1978), SH London Bridge (1979), JAF Latin Black (1980), Sparrow Sparrow Sanford (1981), Charlies Sweeter Than Ever (1982), Charlies The Greatest (1983), Charlies Vanessa (1984), B's King of the World (1984), B's A Touch of Class (1986), B's One Love One Heart (1987) Dr Bird (1988) Hot Like Fire (1992), Ice Dancing Shoes (1994), Ice The Supreme Serenader (1998), AR Barack De Magnificent (2008), BLS/VP Fyaah and Fury (2018), BLS/VP

Live albums Sparrow at the Sheraton Kingston (1963), National Sparrow at the Hilton (1967), Recording Artists Live Volume Two (1971), Hilary The Best of (1971), Strakers – recorded live in Brooklyn Live at 85! (2020)

Major compilations Mighty Sparrow Volume 1 (1992), Ice Mighty Sparrow Volume 2 (1993), Ice Mighty Sparrow Volume 3 (1993), Ice Mighty Sparrow Volume 4 (1994), Ice The Millennium Series (2000–2001), Mika Enterprises – a series of 40 albums compiling Sparrow's recordings

Compilation appearances Calypso Kings and Pink Gin (Cook Records, 1957) Calypso Exposed (Cook, 1961) 16 Carnival Hits (with Lord Kitchener) – 1992 Calypso Awakening from the Emory Cook Collection (Smithsonian Folkways, 2000) First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection (Smithsonian Folkways, 2005) Calypsoes (Trinidad, August 1959.)

Major awards and honours

1969 - Hummingbird Medal Silver 1993 – Chaconia Medal Gold 2013 – Lifetime Achievement Award from the Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in New York 2014 - Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago 2015 Birthday Honours – Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Carnival Road March titles

+ Year Song 1956 "Yankees Gone" 1958 "P.A.Y.E." 1960 "Mae Mae" 1961 "Royal Jail" 1966 "Melda (Obeah Wedding)" 1969 "Sa Sa Ay" 1972 "Drunk And Disorderly" 1984 "Doh Back Back"

Calypso King/Monarch titles

+ Year Song 1 Song 2 1956 "Yankees Gone" none 1960 "Ten to One Is Murder" "Mae Mae" 1962 "Sparrow Come Back Home" "Federation" 1963 "Dan Is the Man (In the Van)" "Kennedy" 1972 "Drunk and Disorderly" "Rope" 1973 "School Days" "Same Time, Same Place" 1974 "We Pass That Stage" "Miss Mary" 1992 "Both of Them" "Survival"