f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

Meet
a Tobagonian
Curtis Chase
Calypso Rose
by Keith Anderson
Calypso Rose (McArtha Linda Sandy-
Lewis) is a calypso phenomenon and
pioneer. This great Tobagonian, born April
27, 1940, has endeared herself to calypso/
soca lovers everywhere.
Rose started in 1958 with the Mighty
Sparrow Calypso Show, and soon was off
on tours with calypso great, Lord Kitchener.
Since then there has been no looking back
for the evergreen “Queen of Calypso” who
today still performs on the world stage.
She honed her calypso skills singing at
weddings and christenings as a youth. Her
father, a Baptist minister of Bethel, Tobago,
never wanted Rose to sing calypso, but her
love for the art form endured. For Rose,
it was a hard road to travel in a maledominated
calypso environment, but her
persistence paid off after much criticism
and victimisation. It took some time for
Rose to gain the respect of her male
colleagues, but when she did, it was “fire
in they wire” (taken from one of her most
famous calypsos).
Her predecessors, Lady Trinidad (Thelma
Lewis) and Lady Ire, struggled to make a
breakthrough in calypso, because women
were not accepted at that time. Rose
broke down the prejudices that restrained
women in calypso and opened the
floodgates through which came Singing
Francine, Calypso Princess and Singing
Diane.Today, there are many women in
calypso and soca who have risen to the
top. Names like Denyse Plummer, Singing
Sandra, Destra, Faye Ann Lyons and Denise
“Saucy Wow” Belfon have blazed a trail
in the soca arena. Rose’s first song was
“Glass Thief.” However, she hit the stage
in 1963 at the Calypso Revue Tent and
enjoyed mild success. It wasn’t until 1968
that Rose started to show her true mettle
with a song called “Fire Fire.”
She generated much heat that year
and a string of hits soon followed: “Soca
Jam,” “Tempo” and “Action Is Tight” as well
as “Pallet”—a tribute to the ubiquitous
“pallet man” who served some delightfully
delicious frozen, milky popsicles from his
cart.
Rose snatched the Road March title
in 1977 with Tempo and became the
first woman to break the twenty-year
stranglehold that Lord Kitchener “Kitch”
and The Mighty Sparrow had on the title.
But the bouncy Tobagonian didn’t
stop there, she belted the competition
in 1978 taking the Calypso Monarch title
in a double-fisted attack with “I Thank
Thee” and “Her Majesty”; then snatched
the Road March with “Soca Jam.” What
a feat! Her image and calypso stature
grew immensely. Rose’s first recording was
“Fire Fire,” but since then she has put out
several albums, among them—Sexy Hot
Pants, Calypso Queen of the World, Splish
Splash, Soca Diva, Jump With Power, The
Best of Calypso Rose in France. She also
has a Gospel CD called Jesus Is My Rock.
Calypso Rose dominated the female side
of calypso, winning the National Calypso
Queen title an unprecedented five times
between1974–1978. Singing Francine won
the first competition in 1972.
The well-travelled Rose, has been
given numerous awards, among them the
Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for culture in
2000. She has been feted and decorated all
over the world, in a career that spans four
decades. That’s what you call longevity!
In 2003, the energetic Rose was given
the key to the City of Port of Spain by
Mayor Murchison Browne and was also
honoured in Arima.
A documentary called La Diva Rose has
just been completed, and it showcases
the musical journey of this incredible
calypsonian. She has excelled in her
field and has overcome all challenges
and obstacles, while enriching the lives
of people throughout the world. What a
beautiful Rose!
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago