By Tony Deyal
I was just over four-years old and was heading to the village standpipes with two of my young neighbours carrying “pans” or buckets to go to the village standpipe when we heard big men shouting, “Pan, Pan.” At first, I thought they were laughing at a lady at the standpipe showering with a very short “outfit,” but it turned out that the “Pan” referred to the “steelpan,” the country’s national instrument, which was the only acoustic musical instrument invented in the 20th century. On the other hand, Calypso originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the 19th century as a powerful, rhythmic, and lyrical medium for social commentary, storytelling, and political protest.
It then became the voice of the people because the colonials did not know what they were saying. What happened in the 1950s, when I was still at the standpipe, the tamboo-bamboo, guitar, and cuatro finally linked with the Calypsonians and became one. Initially, Atilla the Hun, Roaring Lion, Lord Invader, Lord Kitchener, and the Mighty Sparrow were involved. At the same time, steel bands became a prominent feature of Carnival with musicians wearing pans around their necks while going through town (Port-of-Spain) with their bands and groups.
Then the Steelbands playing calypsos came out to win the “Road March,” and they joined together as one. This was the symbiotic relationship of the two greats – PAN and KAISO – that the great “Black” Stalin placed for history with “Beat My Tune” (1967) with first telling us that, “In walking from panyard,/ to panyard in town/ With Champayne and whisky,/ with brandy and rum…” and what it will be for him, “Beat my tune on Carnival day/ Begging beat my tune in the best lavay/ And if you beat my tune, I eh skylarking/ Everybody know this year, I will be the Road march king…” The team that chose the tune initially was not well known when it was chosen by San Fernando’s Silvertones Steel Orchestra as their calypso of choice in the 1967 music festival.
However, while Stalin put it on the Wall of Fame, there were others who were there before. The first was the Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco), who was considered the “Calypso King of the World.” In 1963, he was one of the greats who joined a “PAN”, the Panam North Stars, led by Anthony Williams, which was renowned in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the greats, especially in the 1960s.
The calypso was, “Dan Is The Man in the Van” and this is how it went: Captain! There’s a traitor on board!- Examine the horn!
“According to the education/ You get when you small/ You will grow up with true ambition/ And respect for one and all/ But in my days in school/ They teach me like a fool/ The things they teach me/ Ah should be ah block-headed mule… An’ Dan, is the man, in the van…”
After Sparrow and before Stalin was the Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), from Arima, T&T, also known as “Kitch” and considered “the grand master of calypso” and “the greatest calypsonian of the post-war age.” In 1964, he too did the Panam North Stars with “Mama Dis Is Mas”. In this case, you will hear “Hylanders Steel Orchestra” This is also the song which starts, “Mama this is class/ As I can assure/ What we hoping for/ Have no fight or fuss/ This time you can jump with us/ And jump up with, Bacchanal, and join the Carnival.
One of the greats, Lord Melody (Fitzroy Alexander) was another Trinidad calypsonian best know for his “Bood Boo Man,” “Jonah and the Bake,” and “Shame and Scandal.” Then, in 1965, he came up with “Mas.” The arrangement was part of the musical repertoire of the Guinness Cavaliers, led by the legendary arranger Lennox “Bobby” Mohammed, who was the youngest arranger to win a National Panorama at age 22 in 1965. He was a dominant force in the T&T steelband during 1960s. This is what he, the band and Melody won that year.
Then, in 1966, the Desperadoes with the great Sparrow came up with “Obeah Wedding.” He sang:
You making yourself a pappy show Melda
You making yourself a bloody clown
Up and down the country looking for Obeah
And you perspiration smell so strong
Girl you only wasting time
Obeah wedding bells don’t chime
And you can’t trap me
With necromancy
Melda oh, you making wedding plans
Carrying me name to Obeah man
All you do can’t get through
I still ain’t goin’ marry to you
In looking closer to our time, we will go back to the great Black Stalin, whom I considered a friend for many years and times. One of his songs, “Feeling to Party” was with the BP Renegades Steel Orchestra, one of the most renowned and historic steelbands in T&T. He sang, “ Stop all house working yuh doing/ Tonight we going and have some fun/ I just reeling to party/ The way we used to when we was young/ Just put on something sexy/ So you’ll be free to move around/ Make sure the children okay/ We eh coming home until morning come.” The comes,
Tonight the black man feeling to party
Tonight the black man feeling to jam jam jam jam jam
Tonight the black man just here to boogie woogie
Come on come on hold on to yuh man
And leh we do
Leh we do
Leh we do ah little oy!
Bang Bang Ba dang ba bang
At number 2024, there was Mical Teja, a Cultural award-winning recording artiste, and music producer from T&T. He had an Official Music Video with “Last Train,” “Energy” and “DNA.” It goes, “When we outside is a ocean of love/ All of we alien to stars up above/ And we go jam till morning/ Look moon gone sleeping/ Tell them we not leaving/ Till the last drop of bachannal/ Is madness in the capital so/ I feel I could run in town again, jump and shake/ Wave with all my friend and them/ No place like home, home, home…” He ended with, “We go jam till the moon come down/ Is we who the stars shine on/ Pay a mas and break away/ Freedom in we DNA.” This, too, was Renegade (practising for the final) and from Teja himself.
As the last one to give us a sense of the mix – the link between PAN and KAISO, we need to go back to the greatest of the grates, the Sparrow himself, with “The Lizard.” It went like this, “Playing in class with a Lizard in ah glass/ The lizard get away from Ruth, / And, run by the teacher foot, / “Oh” lord the children frighten, / Wonder what go happen/ But the teacher laughing out kee…kee…kee/ Only watching everybody.”
And the chorus for all of us,
The Lizard run of she foot and disappear,
Everybody still searching everywhere,
Weh meh Lizard teacher, teacher Midreed
The way she jolly and happy,
Ah sure the Lizard must be tickling she.
*Tony Deyal was running fast before any Lizard coming after him.
