Calypso Music of Virgin Island

The initial calypso artist from the Virgin Island was known as Lloyd Prince Thomas, who travelled to the New York City in the mid-40s and remained performing for twenty years. Charles Harris, the Mighty Zebra (a popular Trinidadian calypsonian) powerfully performed in the Virgin Islands in the 50s; he came during in the carnival in the year 1952 and lived there, playing at the Virgin Isles Hotel with the LaMotta Brothers Ensemble. The LaMotta Ensemble, headed by the Bill LaMotta, was a very renowned orchestra that recorded many albums and backed Mighty Zebra in the year 1957 album for RCA Records. The remaining main early calypso ensemble from the Virgin Islands was the Fabulous McClevertys, who travelled extensively throughout the East Coast of the United States at the height of the calypso craze in the late 50s.

source of picture:www.vinow.com

Another famous Virgin Islands calypsonian is known as Irvin Brownie Brown, who has organized the islands’ carnival and has been a dominant singer, MC, radio entertainer and drummer for many periods. Formerly from St. Thomas, he learned the timbales as a young man, and he later joined his uncle’s hotel ensemble in the year 1949 or 1950. The ensemble later began perform in Florida and other places, and Brownie became recognized as the calypso singer while he also learnt bongo, congas and a trap set. They also recorded for Monogram and then Art Records, with Mighty Panther and the Haitian singer known as Calypso Mama. Brownie’s came back to St. Thomas followed by joining with the Milo & the Kings, as popular ensemble, from where he was a drumming for seventeen years, recording a series of albums and travelling throughout the North American and the Caribbean. He began working as a DJ for the WSTA radio station in the year 1966, and he remained there for more than three years, he had a regular talk show with calypso acts known as The original Side of Walter and Brownie.