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Lord Kitchener
Written by : Soca News
Location : Trinidad & Tobago
Posted : Apr 18, 2007 : 10:42:07 AM |
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If the late Grandmaster the Lord Kitchener was still alive today, on this day April 18th he would have celebrated his 85th birthday. Born Aldwyn Ewart Roberts in Arima, Trinidad; Kitch, as he was affectionately called, captured his first title at 16 in his home town.
However it wasn’t until 1944, with his first calypso hit The Green Fig, he was given the sobriquet Lord Kitchener by the Growling Tiger. That same year he also penned the first pan kaiso – The Beat of the Steelband.
In 1946 he captured his first Road March title with Jump in the Line and placed second in the Calypso Monarch competition to Atilla the Hun. The next year he started The Original Brigade Calypso Tent before leaving to tour Aruba, Curacao and Jamaica for two years.
In 1948 he arrived in England on the MV Windrush, where he made his home and got married in 1953. In 1954 he composed his Christmas hit – Drink Ah Rum.
In 1957 he composed a national song for the Ghanaian Independence – The Birth of Ghana, before opening his own nightclub in Manchester, England in 1958.
Kitchener made Road March history in 1963 to 1973, by capturing the title eight times with - The Road, Mama Dis is Mas, My Pussin, Sixty Seven, Miss Tourist, Margie, Mas In Madison Square Garden and Rain O Rama.
During this time Kitch returned to Trinidad in 1967 and created pan history by composing 11 consecutive Panorama winning title from 1967 – 1977. In total Kitch has 18 panorama winning compositions to his name.
In 1975 he captured the Road March title again with Tribute to Spree Simon and also captured the Calypso Monarch title. In 1976 he won the Road March with Flag Woman. In 1978 he composed the timeless Soca hit Sugar Bum Bum.
In 1989 he was inducted in the Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame in New York. Then in 1993 he was offered the Chaconia Award in Trinidad & Tobago which he refused. In 1994 his face appeared on postage stamps in T&T and in 1995 his statue was erected in St James.
In 2000 the Calypso fraternity and Soca lovers was plunged into mourning when Lord Kitchener – The Grandmaster died on Friday 11th February. |
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