Calypso’s “Kitch” of the Day

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Calypso’s “Kitch” of the Day
by Von Martin written for the “WASHINGTON POST”
February 20, 2000


published at the request, and with the expressed permission - of the author


If Aldwyn Roberts, the calypsonian known as Lord Kitchener, had been born in a metropolitan country instead of the island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, he might have been considered one of the greatest composers of this century.I wrote for the Washington Post commemorating “Lord Kitchener.” This was done in 2000 using material from an interview I did with Kitch in 1988. I think its a doozy. Cheers, Von

But then he would not have contributed so much to calypso music. For more than 50 years, Lord Kitchener, who died Feb. 11 at the age of 77, gave calypso some of its wittiest and most infectious musical compositions.

Calypso, a genre grounded in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, is both poetry in music and editorial in song. Calypso songs praise or condemn their subjects. The lyrics tell of the life of the island’s people and echo the social activities of its leaders, prominent citizens and the average man on the street.
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