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This year, he is
celebrating his
fiftieth anniversary in the
music business and
singing calypso.
He is esteemed
veteran Antiguan
calypsonian Sir
Mclean Emmanuel, more
familiarly known as
King Short Shirt,
and the last of nine
children.
Displaying his
musical talents at a
very early age from
school days through
his teen years, he
would go on to win
his first local
calypso competition
in 1964 with No
Place Like Home
and Heritage.
That victory was the
first of fifteen for
King Short Shirt,
with his last year
of competition being
1992.
According to
his bio,
Emmanuel established a legacy
“of scathing social
commentary against
injustice of all
kinds,” and known
for taking bold
political stands in
song. Being an
artist himself, the
calypso and
steelband art forms
also received his
attention and
support when he
perceived unfairness
was meted out to
them; case in point
was Hands Off
Harmonites.
Emmanuel/King Short
Shirt became a
born-again Christian
in 1997, and is now
known as Brother
Emmanuel.
However the performer
has not relinquished
his penchant for
‘speaking out’ in
song about issues
close to his heart,
and any that merit a
platform of exposure
provided by someone
as battle-tested as
Emmanuel.
Edited
by C. Phillips
Full bio here
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For
Antigua &
Barbuda’s 2012 Panorama season,
ace musician
Khan Cordice has arranged
the song featured here
and popularized in
1987,
J’Ouvert Rhythm. It was the ‘Road
March’ for that
year’s Carnival, and
is now the tune of
choice for Cordice’s
band Hell’s Gate
Steel Orchestra, in
the 2012 Panorama
competition.
Hell’s Gate was
initially sole
defending Panorama champion.
After an
adjudication-related
controversy, Halcyon
Steel Orchestra were
reportedly
proclaimed
co-champions for
2012.
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‘J’Ouvert Rhythm’
