The Political Calypso
True Opposition in Trinidad and Tobago, 1962-1987
by Louis Regis
Calypso, a traditional form of music in the Caribbean, began in
Trinidad and Tobago as a subtle protest against British rule.
Influenced by African and native Caribbean rhythms, the calypso
(along with Jamaican reggae) defines the music of the region.
Louis Regis examines the evolution of the political calypso from
1962 to 1987, the period of Trinidad/Tobago’s independence
from Britain, and presents the text of lyrics from this popular
folk-urban musical form.
Following the songs and their themes chronologically from 1962
forward, Regis discovers the social history, cultural attitudes,
and political commentary embedded within the music. He discusses
the uneasy alliance between the performer and the politician, the
political moods and postures emphasized in the songs, and the
national identity of the calypso.
Drawing upon voluminous research, Regis’s study brings to
light little-known and unrecorded songs. With a concluding
chapter on the calypso’s artistic and performance elements,
it will appeal both to specialists in ethnomusicology and to
general readers who enjoy the calypso.
Louis Regis, the author of Maestro: The True
Master and Black Stalin: The Caribbean Man, is one
of the West Indies’ foremost authorities on the calypso. He
teaches at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive School in Trinidad.
1998. 320 pp. 6 X 9.
3 appendixes, notes, bibliography, index.
ISBN 0-8130-1580-4
Cloth, $55.00
For MasterCard/Visa holders, accumulate titles in the Shopping Cart and submit your order electronically.
"A significant contribution to the field of calypso studies. . . . Few published works have taken this extensive a look at the political calypsos and what informs them."--Keith Q. Warner, George Mason University, author of Kaiso! The Trinidad Calypso