CALYPSO ROSE

Calypso Rose or Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis (born April 27, 1940, in Bethel Village, Tobago) is a Trinidadian calypsonian. She started writing songs at the age of 13; over the years, she has composed more than 1000 songs and recorded more than 20 albums. Considered the "mother of calypso", Rose was the first female calypso star and her lyrics frequently address social issues like racism and sexism.

Her influence over the calypso music genre forced the renaming of the Calypso King competition to the Calypso Monarch instead.

In addition to writing songs about social issues, Rose is also an activist and was given the title of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for former child soldiers along with performing at numerous events for social change.

She has received every award available to living artists in the Caribbean.

She currently resides in Queens, New York, and regularly returns to Trinidad and Tobago in addition to touring.

Calypso Rose was born under the name Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis.

Her mother gave her this name as an homage a respectable army general by the name of Douglas MacArthur.

At the beginning of her music career, the singer originally took the name Crusoe Kid but later changed it to Calypso Rose.

This occurred when she auditioned for the managers of a calypso tent called Young Brigade. The name Crusoe Kid was meant to signify her origins in Tobago, and a reference to the novel Robinson Crusoe.

After hearing her perform, the managers at Young Brigade renamed her Calypso Rose because a rose is considered the mother of all flowers, and she considers herself the mother of female calypsonians that came after her.

She grew up in the small village of Bethel on the island of Tobago, one of the two Caribbean islands forming Trinidad and Tobago and the birthplace of calypso.

Calypso Rose began singing at calypso tents in the 1950s at the age of 15 going against her harsh critics, and had the opportunity to perform in different places from Grenada, St. Vincent to the US Virgin Islands.

A large influencer and supporter of Rose was a man named Lord Kitchener who was the first to recognize her as a composer . From 1963 to 1965, she would continue to perform in his tent.

She knew Lord Kitchener from the age of 9 and he was known for his influence on many young calypso singers because of the songs he would make.

Even with many of the religious elders in Trinidad's disapproval for Rose's participation in calypsos, she was able to win them over with her song "Abide with Me" which is about hurricane Florence that hit Tobago and Grenada in 1964.

In 1966 she would perform with a very well-known calypsonian in many occasions by the name of the 'Mighty Sparrow' (Slinger Francisco).

Despite many people's misconceptions, Rose was not the first female calypso singer. However, with her song "Cooperation", she was able to compete outside of Tobago and Trinidad against other male calypsonians and win her first title as Calypso King in the Virgin Islands and win Virgin Island's Road March in the same year.

Alongside her career in music Calypso Rose was a part of many documentaries including "Calypso at Dirty Jim's", and "Calypso Rose, Lioness in the Jungle".

"Calypso at Dirty Jim's" was directed by Pascale Obolo and was produced in 2005 which discusses many Caribbean artists like Mighty Sparrow, Mighty Terror, Bomber, Lord Superior, and Calypso Rose.

"Calypso Rose, Lioness in the Jungle" was produced in 2011 which was also made by Pascale Obolo, and it follows Rose's life as a prominent voice and ambassador of Caribbean music.

In 2019, Rose performed at Coachella, marking the first time a calypso performer played a full set at the festival. At 78, she became the festival's oldest performer to date.

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