‘The Creator’s Gift’

Edwin Ayoung or “Crazy” - born Edwin Ayoung in  1944, on Maraval Road in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad of a Venezuelan mother and Trinidadian father of Chinese descent, was - in his youth - as skilled and competitive in his country’s national pastime of cricket, as he has been now for years as a world-travelled musician, performing artist and composer.

Though dubbed The “Loveable Lunatic of Soca,” Ayoung has time and again not been given his due in his native land, yet remains one of the most commercially successful artists on the international soca scene. An experimentalist, he pioneered the unique musical genre known as Parang Soca and played a leading role in promoting Chutney Soca. Crazy would go on to sing several monster smashes in parang soca, including Muchacha and Homemade Wine.

A brilliant double-entendre artiste at its best - Edwin Ayoung has delighted in pushing the envelope in his humorous and witty manner.  With songs like Paul, Nani Wine and Suck Meh Soucouyant to name but three, this illustrious performer remains a staple in the music world.

He’s been ranked in the top three for Trinidad & Tobago’s annual national calypso monarch competition - his best showing being at position two with Dustbin Cover.  He captured the prestigious Road March title (the ‘tune for the road’ during Carnival Monday and Tuesday) in 1985 with Suck Meh, Soucouyant.

Now add the track here, The Creator’s Gift, to the increasing set of music works sung by “Crazy” for the 2018 steelband Panorama and carnival season; this one written by Clinton Guppy. Already out for this period are I Young (Go Crazy), Pan Break, Wind and Solar and Love of the Music.

---

Clinton Guppy was born to Lloyd Clement Brown and Enid Guppy, both coming from the community of Success Village, Laventille. He has been playing the steelpan since 1968 at the tender age of eight – his first band named Minuet. This band was located at the back of Clinton’s residence. It lasted roughly three years, making way for another, five years later, at the same location, called Laventille Superstars; this band was also short-lived. His three other siblings were in this band, including the eldest, Herman.

Eventually, Clinton and one of his siblings were inspired by Herman to join the band, Solo Harmonites Steel Orchestra in 1974 and became passionate for music despite being ignorant to the theories of music. Clinton decided to throw his hat into the ring, doing his own thing for the first time.

He recalls at one occasion, Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung came to Herman’s pan factory, requesting a tenor pan. He approached Edwin, asking him to sing The Creator’s Gift, which had no lyrics at the time, not knowing almost four years later, Herman would be the motive and inspiration for the lyrics in The Creator’s Gift.

 

---

---

Leave a comment in the WST Forum