Mighty Sparrow, legendary calypso singer who brought Caribbean music worldwide, dies at 91
TheGrio...
The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter became one of calypso’s most influential figures through his music, satire and storytelling.
Slinger Francisco, the calypso giant known around the world as the Mighty Sparrow, has died at 91. His family announced the news after he died Sunday, Sept. 27, in New York following a brief illness, surrounded by loved ones.
His career helped carry calypso, one of the Caribbean music genres with deep regional roots, far beyond Trinidad and Tobago. Francisco’s rise also unfolded during the era when Harry Belafonte helped bring Caribbean sounds into mainstream U.S. pop culture with his 1956 album “Calypso.”
The Associated Press reported that Francisco was born in Grand Roy, Grenada, in July 1935 and moved with his parents to Trinidad and Tobago in 1937. He broke through in 1956 with “Jean and Dinah,” beginning a run that made him one of calypso’s defining artists.
Known affectionately as “Birdie,” Francisco recorded hundreds of songs across a career that stretched more than seven decades. His catalog included “Both of Them,” “Congo Man,” “Mr. Walker” and “The Lizard,” while his performances took him around the world, including to Madison Square Garden in New York.
Calypso gave Francisco room to mix melody with humor, satire and social commentary. Trinidad and Tobago President Christine Kangaloo said he became one of the country’s most influential cultural figures and praised the way his music captured Caribbean life, humor and conscience.
His honors reflected that standing. Francisco received the silver Hummingbird Medal in 1969, the gold Chaconia Medal in 1993 and the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014. The University of the West Indies awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters in 1987.
Francisco’s family remembered him as an institution in the entertainment industry and praised his work as a singer, songwriter and mentor. The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation also called him a defining voice who helped take calypso from Trinidad and Tobago to the world.