I don’t know much about calypso, the national music of Trinidad. But I know the song “Shame and Scandal” because Odetta recorded a version in the 1950s. (Click here to hear it on my Vox blog.)“Shame and Scandal in the Family” is a popular tune that dates back to the early ’40s. It has been recorded by legendary calypsonians Sir Lancelot and Lord Melody.
A more recent version by Willard Harris, a.k.a. Lord Relator, is available as a FREE MP3. What you get from Relator’s performance, quite differently from Odetta’s, is a feel for the humor of calypso. I’ll say no more.
Click here to hear Relator’s version on my Vox blog. To download the track, click the title below.
Speaking of humor, I found a video clip of Lord Relator in which he cracks on competing calypso singers. Delightful. (Except that joking around like that can lead to trouble.)
“Shame and Scandal in the Family” (MP3)
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I would do this guy so quickly. Why is he so F'n fine. I can't even pay attention to what the heck he's talkin' about. Even as an older man he's HOT.
ReplyDeleteOh and I liked Odetta's version of SHAME