Browse by Artist: MIGHTY SPARROW, THE

Artist:	MIGHTY SPARROW, THE
Title:	Hot + Sweet
Label:	BANANASTAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	BSR 101CD

"The legendary 1972 Warner Brothers album, produced by Van Dyke Parks & Andrew Wickham, Hot + Sweet features the finest Calypso vocal recordings ever produced by the man known as 'The Calypso King of the World.' The Mighty Sparrow's career spans over 40 years and 70 albums. He continues to redefine the true meaning of Calypso Power through his amazing ability -- not only to put into words and tempo the exploits of SOCiety, but to crown it all with showmanship and appeal. The Mighty Sparrow is Slinger Francisco, Chief of The Yorubas, who has brought honor, glory, and dignity to an indigenous art form that was once scorned by the elite of Caribbean society. He utilizes his medium not just to entertain, but also to edify, enlighten, and educate." "Recorded during a hurricane in Miami, the power of the wind and rain whipping the studio were matched only by the power and beauty of these compositions, chosen by Andrew and myself as the greatest in Sparrow's prodigious catalogue." - Van Dyke Parks

Artist:	MIGHTY SPARROW, THE
Title:	Sparrowmania!
Label:	STRUT (UK)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$17.50
Catalog #:	STRUT 090CD

Subtitled: Wit, Wisdom And Soul From The King Of Calypso 1960-1974. "Strut presents a brand new retrospective of one of the Caribbean's most towering musical figures, Mighty Sparrow, covering 1962 to 1974. During a career of over 40 years, Sparrow has been an unmatchable figure in the world of calypso and a constant backdrop to Caribbean life, recording over 300 albums and winning eleven Calypso Monarch and eight Road March titles at the annual Trinidad Carnival during one of the most competitive times in its history. Scoring his first hit, 'Jean And Dinah', aged 20, Sparrow's style drew on influences from US street harmony quartets to crooners like Nat King Cole, jazz greats -- Ella, Sinatra -- and the early calypso generation including Lord Melody and Lord Kitchener. By the late '50s and in his early '20s, he was already an influential figure, encouraging Trinidad's people to pay taxes with Carnival hit 'P.A.Y.E.' and highlighting cruelty to animals on 'Russian Satellite'. This new collection hones in on Sparrow's most creative years as he effortlessly surfed musical styles from calypso party jams to hard-hitting boogaloo and soul. He had become a confident political commentator, tackling subjects as varied as domestic economic hardship ('Ah Diggin' Horrors'), slavery ('The Slave') and the Cuban missile crisis ('Kennedy And Kruschev'). Other tracks serve as a vital reference point for today's music. On 'Picong Duel', we hear Sparrow and fellow calypso legend, Lord Melody, trade insults, a direct forerunner to later mic battles in hip hop culture. Elsewhere, Sparrow just plain rocks the party ('Calypso Boogaloo', 'Jook For Jook') and turns in the odd choice cover -- we feature here his lilting version of Otis Redding's 'Try A Little Tenderness' with Byron Lee."

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