Along with names like Lord Kitchener and the Mighty Sparrow, David Rudder is on the Mount Rushmore of calypso/soca singers and composers. The prime of his stardom was more recent, in the '80s/'90s, so Trinis in their 30s through 50s grew up to his music - and he is still going strong.
Too many hits to list, but "The Hammer" is about Rudolph Charles, pan maker for the famed Desperadoes Steel Band:
"Calypso Music" is another, packed with history:
We had the chance to hear him and his killer band live. My calypso obsession has been stuck in the '50s-'70s, I knew some of his tunes, but now have a lot more homework to do!
The Normandie was one of the first hotels in Port of Spain, it's old and beautiful.
They put on a series of shows before Carnival, some big classic names in there. (The exchange rate is ~6.5 TT = 1 USD)
Inside the Normandie, dressed up for Carnival.
An amazing performance space, outside under the stars, framed by a beautiful, ancient oak(?) tree.
Probably in his 60s now, he still looks and sounds great. At one point, the entire sound system cut off during a song, and without missing a beat, he walked down off the stage in the middle of the crowd and continued to sing acoustic - it was stunning, and disappointing when the amplification came back online!
After a halftime costume change, still killing it. Everyone in the audience was singing along to every lyric in every tune.
The 'special guest' was MX Prime, who came out and sang his current huge hit "Full Extreme", a tune that 2 Panorama bands are playing arrangements of on Saturday. You hear this tune constantly while walking around, and everyone in the crowd lost their minds and started some serious jump-up when he came out.
Heading to a few panyards tonight to hear the 100-piece steel bands practicing and running their tunes for Saturday's Finals. Listening to recordings is one thing, but hearing and feeling the power in person.. Well, it's something I have only been able to imagine, and it will happen tonight. This is what it's all about.
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