|
The
Calypso and
its
derivatives
remain that
intrinsic,
artistic thread that weaves the creative cloth of
history,
documenting
and storytelling
through live
performances
for the
masses. The
late Lord
Blakie was
one of the
true great
masters of
this craft. Blessed with
an abundance
of wit,
intelligence,
humor,
memory and
knowledge of
subject
matter - Lord Blakie
was giant
among his
peers and
a significant
icon in the
steelpan
music
moment....
WST
When I heard of Lord Blakie’s passing I was listening to one of his
calypso hits of yesteryear “Sparrow Loss.” In that tune Blakie took
offense at the manner in which Sparrow responded to his loss of the
calypso monarch to calypsonian Bomber and the response from the judges.
It was Sparrow’s second loss. The first loss was to calypsonian Dougla.
Before those losses Sparrow never lost a competition. So, Sparrow was
upset. Some even reported that he threatened Bomber. So, Blakie used his
calypso “Sparrow Loss” to inform the ‘respectable’ authorities that
their favorable treatment of Sparrow would lead to their downfall. He
felt that if it was he (Blakie) who had expressed the unseemly behavior
that Sparrow expressed the ‘respectable’ authorities “…. would have put
have put an X next to my name and no matter how good I sang I would not
win the competition.” Blakie was one of the few calypsonians who was not
intimidated by Sparrow. As a matter of fact his disagreements with
Sparrow led to his opening his own calypso Tent called Victory. At that
time the Brigade had all the calypso stars singing in their Tent. But,
Blakie was able to draw a few of the young calypsonians to his Tent and
did a pretty good job the first year. But, its tenure was short due to
mismanagement and other infighting. He was the first calypsonian to
break from Sparrow’s Tent, the Original Young Brigade.
 From Blakie’s introduction to calypso he established his “Warlord”
credentials. His first road march tune “Steelband Clash” recorded the
steelband clash between the Invaders and Tokyo steelbands. Blakie was
the first calypsonian, to my knowledge, that identified with a
steelband. The second was Sparrow who was a mas playing member of the
1960s Trinidad Al Stars Steel Orchestra. Blakie was a mas playing member
(some said that he was also a member of their gang) of the then San Juan
All Stars Steel Orchestra. At the time of their existence, San Juan All
Stars was known as a badjohn band. They became infamous for the Carnival
riot with the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra.
Blakie was one of the great calypsonians, who, were it not for the
presence of Sparrow (Calypso King of the World), would have gone further
in the calypso world. What I mean is that Sparrow was such a dynamic
presence in the calypso world that all other calypsonians could not
outdo him in the competitions. I met Blakie some years ago in Brooklyn
at a Calypso competition on Eastern Parkway. He was one of the judges. I
found him to be gentle and very respectful. He commented on the tunes by
the young calypsonians and pointed out their mistakes. I found his
judgments to be on target. I never heard a Blakie’s calypso that was not
well received by the public. As we all know the Trinidad public is a
harsh critic of calypsonians. To pass muster you have to be real good.
Blakie always passed muster. He never won the calypso monarch but he was
always a force in the competitions. Many felt that his warlord image did
not help with the judges who did not approve of his badjohn image. They
believed that he could not represent calypso as an ambassador abroad.
But, Blakie won two road marches “Steelband Clash” and “Maria”. As a
matter of fact he won the first official road march with “Maria” in
1962. Previously, road marches did not have any official status. Blakie
was also known for his laugh during a calypso. You could recognize his
calypsos by that laugh. He was also an expert in imitating the Chinese
language in calypso. Among my favorite is “Chinese Restaurant.” His
political calypso on the then Geddes Granger (now Makandal Daaga),
leader of NJAC is memorable.
The passing of Blakie should awaken the TUCO, (the representative body
for calypso). Over the last few years at this time we lose calypsonians,
panists and Mas leaders, the trinity of Carnival. We mourn them for a
few weeks and then they are forgotten. We need a Calypsonian Hall of
Fame to record the contributions of these legends. Some say that we
don’t like our heroes and heroines. One calypsonian, Mudada, said that
“we put you up today and mash you down tomorrow. We need to collect our
national music and place them in an archive so that future generations
will be able to know their contributions. I remember when the National
Library opened I contacted them to know if they had the Independence
record album that recorded all the calypsonians who participated in the
1962 Independence competition finals. I was told that they did not know
one existed. But, I know it existed because I saw it as a child in
Ibrahim’s record Store that used to be on Park Street. It had the
national colors of Red, White and Black on the jacket. I call on TUCO to
collect Blakie’s calypso legacy and place them on CDs for the public to
hear. I have prepared my won collection from my archive. We must
remember Roy Cape’s remark that when he called a radio station to inform
them that Frankie Francis had died he was asked who was Frankie Francis.
This year we lost three carnival people over the last week. Frankie
Francis (Musician), Mifan (Steelband’s man) and Blakie (Calypsonian).
We celebrate you warlord.
See you at the rendezvous of victory,
by Khalick J. Hewitt, President & Founder
International Steelpan & Calypso Society
January 10, 2005
When Steel Talks Correspondent
Related links and stories
The Long Time Steelband
Share your opinions
click to leave an opinion
|
