The Calypso Monarch (originally Calypso King) contest is one of the two major annual calypso competitions held in Trinidad and all English speaking Caribbean islands, as part of the annual carnival celebrations.
History While Trinidad's carnival has its origins in the 18th century, a singing contest was first held in 1911, when the Jubilee Establishment offered a prize for "the most original song on a local topic".Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, , pp. 4-5 Further competitions were held after World War I, and the Calypso King contest was first held in 1939. The first winner was Growling Tiger with "Trade Union", followed by Roaring Lion in 1940 and Mighty Destroyer in 1941.Winer, Lise (2009) Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago, McGill-Queen's University Press, , p. 159 After a break during World War II, it resumed in 1946, with Atilla the Hun winning the first of two consecutive titles. Mighty Spoiler won the first of three titles in 1948, and Lord Melody the first of three the following year. The competition's most successful calypsonians, Mighty Sparrow and Chalkdust, have won the title eight and nine times respectively, the first in 1956, and the last in 1992 for Sparrow, and Chalkdust's reigns were between 1976 and 2017.
While calypso had been traditionally a male preserve, the contest was won in 1978 by Calypso Rose, prompting the organisers to crown her 'Calypso Monarch', the gender-neutral title remaining from that day. There was not another female winner until Singing Sandra took the crown in 1999.Ferguson, Isaac (1999) "Trinidad's Women Set Tone of '99 Carnival", Billboard, 20 March 1999, p. 8, 87. Retrieved 16 September 2013 Singing Sandra and Terri Lyons are the only female calypsonians to win the Calypso Monarch twice.
The late Mighty Duke is the only calypsonian to have won the title on four consecutive occasions between 1968 and 1971. Duane O'Connor and Duane Ta'zyah O'Connor are the only parent and child to win the Calypso Monarch title. Duane (the father) won in 2012 and his son (Duane Ta'zyah) won in 2023.
Rastafari calypsonian Black Stalin won the title on five occasions between 1979 and 1995.O'Brien, Glenn (1985) "Calypso", Spin, June 1985, pp. 42-45. Retrieved 16 September 2013
The contest is limited to Trinidad & Tobago nationals; however, similar Calypso Monarch contests are now held annually in other Caribbean countries and also in North America and the United Kingdom.Mason, Peter (1998) Bacchanal!: The Carnival Culture of Trinidad, Temple University Press, , p. 51
Winners
Year Winner Winning song(s) Title # 1939 Growling Tiger "Trade Union" 1 1940 Roaring Lion "Rise and Fall of the British Empire" 1 1941 Mighty Destroyer "Adolf Hitler" 1 1946 Atilla the Hun "Daily Mail Report" 1st 1947 Atilla the Hun "Million Dollar Jail" 2nd 1948 Mighty Spoiler "Royal Wedding" 1st 1949 Lord Melody "Glory Mama Glory" 1st 1950 No competition held 1951 Lord Melody "Jonah and the Bake" 2nd 1953 Mighty Spoiler "Bed Bug" 2nd 1954 Lord Melody "Second Spring" 3rd 1955 Mighty Spoiler "Pick Sense Out of Nonsense" 3rd 1956 Mighty Sparrow "Yankees Gone" 1st 1957 Lord Pretender "Que Sera Sera" 1 1958 Striker "Don't Blame the PNM", "Can't Find a Job to Suit Me" 1st 1959 Striker "Ban the Hoola Hoop", "Comparison" 2nd 1960 Mighty Sparrow "Mae Mae", "Ten to One Is Murder" 2nd 1961 Mighty Dougla "Lazy Man", "Split Me in Two" 1 1962 Mighty Sparrow "Federation", "Sparrow Come Back Home" 3rd 1963 Mighty Sparrow "Dan Is the Man in the Van", "Kennedy" 4th 1964 Mighty Bomber "Joan and James", "Bomber's Dream" 1 1965 Sniper "Portrait of Trinidad", "More Production" 1 1966 Mighty Terror "Pan Jamboree", "Last Year's Happiness" 1 1967 Mighty Cypher "Last Elections", "If the Priest Could Play" 1 1968 Mighty Duke "What Is Calypso", "Social Bacchanal" 1st 1969 Mighty Duke "One Foot Visina", "Black Is Beautiful" 2nd 1970 Mighty Duke "Brotherhood of Man", "See Through" 3rd 1971 Mighty Duke "Mathematical Formula", "Melvin & Yvonne" 4th 1972 Mighty Sparrow "Drunk and Disorderly" 5th 1973 Mighty Sparrow "School Days", "Same Time, Same Place" 6th 1974 Mighty Sparrow "We Pass That Stage", "Miss Mary" 7th 1975 Lord Kitchener "Tribute to Spree Simon", "Fever" 1 1976 Chalkdust "No Smut For Me", "Ah Put On Meh Guns Again" 1st 1977 Chalkdust "My Way Of Protest", "Shango Vision" 2nd 1978 Calypso Rose "I Thank Thee", "Her Majesty" 1 1979 Black Stalin "Caribbean Man (Caribbean Unity)", "Play One" 1st 1980 Lord Relator "Food Prices", "Take ah Rest Mr Prime Minister" 1 1981 Chalkdust "Things That Worry Me", "I Can't Make" 3rd 1982 Scrunter "The Will", "Ah Lick E Thing" 1 1983 Tobago Crusoe "Don't Cry Now", "South Africa" 1 1984 Penguin "We Living in Jail", "Sorf Man" 1 1985 Black Stalin "Ism Schism", "Wait Dorothy Wait" 2nd 1986 David Rudder "The Hammer", "Bahia Girl" 1 1987 Black Stalin "Mr Pan Maker", "Burn Them" 3rd 1988 Cro-Cro "Three Bo-rats", "Corruption in Common Entrance" 1st 1989 Chalkdust "Chauffeur Wanted", "Carnival Is the Answer" 4th 1990 Cro-Cro "Political Dictionary", "Party" 2nd 1991 Black Stalin "Ah Feel to Party", "Look on the Bright Side" 4th 1992 Mighty Sparrow "Both of Them", "Survival" 8th 1993 Chalkdust "Misconception", "Kaiso in the Hospital" 5th 1994= De Lamo "31 Years Old", "Trinity Is My Name" 1 1994= Luta "Good Driving", "Licensed Firearm" 1st 1995 Black Stalin "In Time", "Tribute to Sundar Popo" 5th 1996 Cro-Cro "All Yuh Look for Dat", "Deh Cyah Stop Social Commentary" 3rd 1997 Gypsy "Rhythm of a People", "Little Black Boy" 1 1998 Mystic Prowler "Vision of T&T in the Year 2010", "Look Beneath the Surface" 1 1999 Singing Sandra "Voices from the Ghetto", "Song for Healing" 1st 2000 Shadow "What's Wrong with Me", "Scratch meh Back" 1 2001 Denyse Plummer "Heroes", "Nah Leaving" 1 2002 Sugar Aloes "Contribution", "Jubilation" 1st 2003 Singing Sandra "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Ancient Rhythm" 2nd 2004 Chalkdust "Trinidad in the Cemetery", "Fish Mongrel" 6th 2005 Chalkdust "A When I Vexed, I doh Rhyme", "In Town Too Long" 7th 2006 Luta "Check The Foundation", "Kaiso Kaiso" 2nd 2007 Cro-Cro "Nobody Ain't Go Know" 4th 2008 Sugar Aloes "Reflections" 2nd 2009 Chalkdust "My Heart and I" 8th 2010 Kurt Allen "Too Bright" 1 2011 Karene Asche "Careful What You Ask For", "Uncle Jack" 1 2012 Duane O'Connor "The Hunt Is On", "Long Live Calypso" 1 2013 Eric "Pink Panther" Taylor "Travel Woe", "Crying in the Chapel" 1 2014 Roderick "Chucky" Gordon "Wey You Think", "Wedding of de Century" 1st 2015 Roderick "Chucky" Gordon "The Rose", "I Believe" 2nd 2016 Devon Seale “Respect God's Voice”, "Spirit of Carnival" 1 2017 Chalkdust "75 can't go into 14" 9th2018Helon Francis"Change"1st 2019 Ronaldo London “Imagination” 12020Terri Lyons"Obeah", "Meghan My Dear"12023Duane Ta'zyah O'Connor"Sing Hallelujah"12024Machel Montano"Soul of Calypso"12025Helon Francis"To Whom it May Be"2nd2026Terri Lyons "Blessings"2nd |
Multiple titles Only a few Calypsonians have the honour of being crowned multiple-time monarchs.
Winner Years # of titles Atilla the Hun 1946-1947 2 Mighty Spoiler 1948, 1953, 1955 3 Lord Melody 1949, 1950, 1954 3 Mighty Sparrow 1956, 1960, 1962–1963, 1972–1974, 1992 8 Striker 1958-1959 2 Mighty Duke 1968-1971 4 Chalkdust 1976–1977, 1981, 1989, 1993, 2004–2005, 2009, 2017 9 Black Stalin 1979, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1995 5 Cro-Cro 1988, 1990, 1996, 2007 4 Luta 1994 (Tie), 2006 2 Singing Sandra 1999, 2003 2 Sugar Aloes 2002, 2008 2 Roderick "Chucky" Gordon 2014, 2015 2 Helon Francis 2018, 2025 2 Terri Lyons 2020, 2026 2
See also Harry Belafonte, US artist arguably best known for his interpretations of Calypso music
References