UPC: 5397102169472
Format: CD & DVD (7 disc)
Release Date: Aug 29, 2014
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Editor: Evelyn Gerstenberger.
Illustrators: Michael Eldridge; Ray Funk; R.A. Andreas.
Photographers: Michael Eldridge; Ray Funk; R.A. Andreas.
Two pages into the thick hardcover book that accompanies Bear Family's six-CD/one-DVD box set Calypso Craze: 1956-1957 and Beyond, there's a replicated newspaper clipping bearing the headline "Warning: Calypso Next New Beat; R.I.P. For R&R?," a bulletin that suggests just how crazy this craze was at its peak in the mid-'50s. Like most pop fads, Calypso didn't last: it faded fairly quickly, producing one mega-star -- Harry Belafonte -- several memorable singles, and a beat that surfaced occasionally in the years to come while leaving a bunch of pop culture ephemera in its wake. Calypso Craze: 1956-1957 concentrates primarily on that ephemera, chronicling the mania set into motion by the success of Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" in 1956. Calypso existed prior to Belafonte, of course, its roots in Africa and French creole music, but its origins lay in Trinidad and Tabago, where the distinctive lilting rhythms and hearty melodies came into focus. The term Calypso started to surface in the '30s, which is when the first records of this style were made. These are collected on the first disc, "Calypso Comes to America," a disc that opens with Hubert H. Charles' "Marry an Ugly Woman," and runs through a few Trinidadian singles before the Andrew Sisters bring the sound to the states with "Rum and Coca Cola." Then the explosion begins: Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole all try the rhythms (Cole's "Calypso Blues" will be recognizable to rock & roll fiends as the basis for Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon"), and the Duke of Iron heads from Trinidad to New York City where he becomes a nightclub entertainer. All this is prelude to Harry Belafonte, whose career is summarized on the second disc subtitled "The Reluctant Calypso King." If Belafonte was reluctant, his performances were nevertheless joyous and helped inspire many knock-offs, parodies, and homages which are collected on the next four discs. Each of these follows a theme: first, there's "Calypso Is Everywhere," which has some hits, pop songs from the Mills Brothers and Rosemary Clooney a few rock & roll rips and several folk and country tunes, as well as satire from Stan Freberg and Buchanan & Goodman; then, there's "Calypso Goes to the Movies," which collects songs that were used on the silver screen, including selections from the B-movie sensation Calypso Joe, whose eponymous film is featured on the DVD, excerpts from Maya Angelou's pre-poetry career as a calypso singer, oddities from Fess Parker, Mamie Van Doren and, naturally, Robert Mitchum's Calypso Is Like So, which is perhaps the best-known calypso oddity of this boom; next up is a selection of singles from Britain, concentrating on Lord Kitchener and Lord Invader, then it wraps up with "Calypso Goes Global," where the Trinidad rhythms echo around the world. The striking thing about this set is that it appears to be too much -- and six discs is indeed a lot of calypso -- but the box has a light touch, never lingering too long on any one place (the exception being, of course, Belafonte's disc, but that's needed to illustrate his impact) and unveiling lots of wonderful little oddities along the way. Often, the detours are as captivating as the big hits and that's likely why Bear Family focused not on a deep history of calypso the music, but rather the pop culture craze, opening the set with that Charles single and closing with Jimmy Soul's rock & roll appropriate "If You Wanna Be Happy." Calypso wasn't varied or lively enough to be a world-changing movement, not in the way rock & roll was, but it could sustain a couple of years of delightful singles and have enough of an impact to be remembered (and often heard) years later. This box is a testament to that fact. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Illustrators: Michael Eldridge; Ray Funk; R.A. Andreas.
Photographers: Michael Eldridge; Ray Funk; R.A. Andreas.
Two pages into the thick hardcover book that accompanies Bear Family's six-CD/one-DVD box set Calypso Craze: 1956-1957 and Beyond, there's a replicated newspaper clipping bearing the headline "Warning: Calypso Next New Beat; R.I.P. For R&R?," a bulletin that suggests just how crazy this craze was at its peak in the mid-'50s. Like most pop fads, Calypso didn't last: it faded fairly quickly, producing one mega-star -- Harry Belafonte -- several memorable singles, and a beat that surfaced occasionally in the years to come while leaving a bunch of pop culture ephemera in its wake. Calypso Craze: 1956-1957 concentrates primarily on that ephemera, chronicling the mania set into motion by the success of Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" in 1956. Calypso existed prior to Belafonte, of course, its roots in Africa and French creole music, but its origins lay in Trinidad and Tabago, where the distinctive lilting rhythms and hearty melodies came into focus. The term Calypso started to surface in the '30s, which is when the first records of this style were made. These are collected on the first disc, "Calypso Comes to America," a disc that opens with Hubert H. Charles' "Marry an Ugly Woman," and runs through a few Trinidadian singles before the Andrew Sisters bring the sound to the states with "Rum and Coca Cola." Then the explosion begins: Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole all try the rhythms (Cole's "Calypso Blues" will be recognizable to rock & roll fiends as the basis for Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon"), and the Duke of Iron heads from Trinidad to New York City where he becomes a nightclub entertainer. All this is prelude to Harry Belafonte, whose career is summarized on the second disc subtitled "The Reluctant Calypso King." If Belafonte was reluctant, his performances were nevertheless joyous and helped inspire many knock-offs, parodies, and homages which are collected on the next four discs. Each of these follows a theme: first, there's "Calypso Is Everywhere," which has some hits, pop songs from the Mills Brothers and Rosemary Clooney a few rock & roll rips and several folk and country tunes, as well as satire from Stan Freberg and Buchanan & Goodman; then, there's "Calypso Goes to the Movies," which collects songs that were used on the silver screen, including selections from the B-movie sensation Calypso Joe, whose eponymous film is featured on the DVD, excerpts from Maya Angelou's pre-poetry career as a calypso singer, oddities from Fess Parker, Mamie Van Doren and, naturally, Robert Mitchum's Calypso Is Like So, which is perhaps the best-known calypso oddity of this boom; next up is a selection of singles from Britain, concentrating on Lord Kitchener and Lord Invader, then it wraps up with "Calypso Goes Global," where the Trinidad rhythms echo around the world. The striking thing about this set is that it appears to be too much -- and six discs is indeed a lot of calypso -- but the box has a light touch, never lingering too long on any one place (the exception being, of course, Belafonte's disc, but that's needed to illustrate his impact) and unveiling lots of wonderful little oddities along the way. Often, the detours are as captivating as the big hits and that's likely why Bear Family focused not on a deep history of calypso the music, but rather the pop culture craze, opening the set with that Charles single and closing with Jimmy Soul's rock & roll appropriate "If You Wanna Be Happy." Calypso wasn't varied or lively enough to be a world-changing movement, not in the way rock & roll was, but it could sustain a couple of years of delightful singles and have enough of an impact to be remembered (and often heard) years later. This box is a testament to that fact. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracks:
Disc 1:
1 - Marry an Ugly Woman
2 - Edward the VIII
3 - Roosevelt in Trinidad
4 - Guests of Rudy Vallee
5 - Matilda
6 - He Had It Coming
7 - Sing a Tropical Song
8 - Rum and Coca Cola
9 - Scandal in the Family
10 - Century of the Common Man
11 - Old Lady with a Rolling Pin
12 - Mary Ann
13 - Calypsonian Invasion
14 - Jackie Robinson
15 - Run Joe
16 - Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)
17 - Cab Calloway
18 - Cold in de Winter
19 - Is She Is, Or Is She Ain't
20 - His Feet Too Big for de Bed
21 - Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell
22 - Calypso Blues
23 - Last Train
24 - Labor Day Carnival (Jump in the Line)
25 - Chicago, Chicago
26 - Parakeets
27 - Prisoner Arise (Prizonaire Levé)
28 - Hurricane Janet
29 - Big Bamboo
30 - Hacienda Hotel Radio Advertisement
Disc 2:
1 - Man Smart (Woman Smarter)
2 - Matilda
3 - Hold ‘Em Joe
4 - Kalenda Rock (Mourning Song)
5 - Man Piaba
6 - Jump Down, Spin Around
7 - Banana Boat Song
8 - Jamaica Farewell
9 - Brown Skin Girl
10 - Melda Massi
11 - Come Back Liza
12 - Mary's Boy Child
13 - Mama Look a BooBoo
14 - Cocoanut Woman
15 - Island in the Sun
16 - Scratch Scratch
17 - Don't Ever Love Me
18 - Cordelia Brown
19 - Haiti Cheri
20 - Judy Drownded
21 - Lead Man Holler
22 - Sweetheart from Venezuela
23 - Gloria
24 - Monkey
25 - Reincarnation
26 - Tongue Tie Baby
27 - Don't Stop the Carnival
Disc 3:
1 - Banana Boat Song
2 - Marianne
3 - Marianne
4 - Calypso Melody
5 - In de Banana Tree
6 - Calypso Gal
7 - Bahama Mama
8 - Curiosity Calypso
9 - Mangos
10 - Yellow Bird
11 - Calypso Hooray
12 - Calypso Joe
13 - Freddy's New Calypso
14 - When Rock and Roll Come to Trinidad
15 - Dancing to the Rock and Rolla (Rum and Coca Cola)
16 - Calypso Rock & Roll
17 - Calypso Rock
18 - Calypso Rock
19 - Waikiki Farewell
20 - (Tell De Batter To) Hit de Long Ball
21 - Number One
22 - Zombie Jam-Boree
23 - Calypso Sweetheart
24 - Banana Boat Song
25 - Let's Go Calypso
26 - My Man True to Me
27 - Banana Boat (Day-O)
28 - Banana Boat Story (The Banana Boat Song)
29 - High Society Calypso
30 - Take Me, Take Me
31 - Don't Stop the Carnival
32 - Safety Song (Make the Last One For the Road a Cup of Coffee)
Disc 4:
1 - Tastes Like Strawberries
2 - Rock Calypso Joe
3 - Run Joe
4 - Donkey City
5 - Scandal in the Family
6 - Devil is a Woman
7 - Naughty Little Flea
8 - Shake Shake Senora
9 - Calypso Be Bop
10 - Donkey Bray
11 - Calypso Rock
12 - Fire Down Below
13 - What is This Generation Coming To?
14 - Jean and Dinah
15 - Don't Hurry Worry Me
16 - Go, Go, Calypso!
17 - Technique
18 - Mama Look a BooBoo (Boo Boo Man)
19 - Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree
20 - Boys Days
21 - Yankee Dollar
22 - Leave de Atom Alone
23 - Bottle Imp
24 - Sugar Cane
25 - Stew Pig Knuckles
26 - Wedding Bell Calypso (Man Talk Too Much)
27 - Calypso Dance
28 - Limbo
29 - Limbo
30 - Chalypso
Disc 5:
1 - Chocolate Whiskey and Vanilla Gin
2 - Day Dah Light (Banana Loaders' Song)
3 - London is the Place For Me
4 - Kitch (Small Comb, Scratch Me Head)
5 - Food from the West Indies
6 - Underground Train
7 - Tick! Tick! (The Story of the Lost Watch)
8 - Victory Test Match
9 - John Goddard
10 - Manchester United Calypso
11 - Kitch's Bebop Calypso
12 - Is Trouble
13 - Chinese Children
14 - Patricia Gone with Millicent
15 - No Carnival in Britain
16 - Brown Skin Gal
17 - Prince Rainer
18 - My Experience on the Reeperbahn
19 - Woman is a Man's Best Friend
20 - Liberia
21 - Last Train to San Fernando
22 - Sweetie Charlie
23 - Coffee Bar Calypso
24 - Gossip Calypso
25 - Shame and Scandal in the Family
Disc 6:
1 - Atomic Nightmare
2 - Don't You Call Me Boo Boo
3 - Collegiate Invasion
4 - Green Ticket
5 - Right Side of the Road
6 - Don't Touch Me Tomato
7 - Calypso Island
8 - Run, Come See Jerusalem
9 - Delia's Gone
10 - Hold ‘Em Joe
11 - Calypso Cha Cha Cha
12 - Don't Blame It on Elvis
13 - I Like Ike
14 - Scandal in St. Thomas
15 - Vim, Vigor and Vitality
16 - Calypso Joe
17 - Calypso Man
18 - Jack, Jack, Jack
19 - Calypso Blues
20 - Matilda
21 - Weekend News
22 - Atomic Energy
23 - Nescafe Calypso
24 - Limbo
25 - Ramadin
26 - Ugly Girls Have Pretty Names
27 - Mama Ist Aus Kuba
28 - Banana Boat Song
29 - If You Wanna Be Happy
Disc 7:
1 - March of Dimes Calypso [Clip]
2 - Stone Cold Dead in the Market [Clip]
3 - Willie Willie [Clip]
4 - Quarry Road [Clip]
5 - Fly Joe Fly [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
6 - Devil is a Woman [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
7 - Don't Spank de Baby [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
8 - Untitled Conga Line [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
9 - Calypsociety [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
10 - There's Only One Love (In a Woman's Life) [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
11 - Naughty Little Flea [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
12 - Untitled Percussion Jam [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
13 - Sweet Sugar Cane Marianne [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
14 - Marianne
15 - Take Me Down To Locero [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
16 - Po Mule [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
17 - Adam and Evil Blues [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
18 - Calypso Jamboree [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
19 - Can't Cross Over [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
20 - Fly Joe Fly (Reprise) [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
1 - Marry an Ugly Woman
2 - Edward the VIII
3 - Roosevelt in Trinidad
4 - Guests of Rudy Vallee
5 - Matilda
6 - He Had It Coming
7 - Sing a Tropical Song
8 - Rum and Coca Cola
9 - Scandal in the Family
10 - Century of the Common Man
11 - Old Lady with a Rolling Pin
12 - Mary Ann
13 - Calypsonian Invasion
14 - Jackie Robinson
15 - Run Joe
16 - Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)
17 - Cab Calloway
18 - Cold in de Winter
19 - Is She Is, Or Is She Ain't
20 - His Feet Too Big for de Bed
21 - Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell
22 - Calypso Blues
23 - Last Train
24 - Labor Day Carnival (Jump in the Line)
25 - Chicago, Chicago
26 - Parakeets
27 - Prisoner Arise (Prizonaire Levé)
28 - Hurricane Janet
29 - Big Bamboo
30 - Hacienda Hotel Radio Advertisement
Disc 2:
1 - Man Smart (Woman Smarter)
2 - Matilda
3 - Hold ‘Em Joe
4 - Kalenda Rock (Mourning Song)
5 - Man Piaba
6 - Jump Down, Spin Around
7 - Banana Boat Song
8 - Jamaica Farewell
9 - Brown Skin Girl
10 - Melda Massi
11 - Come Back Liza
12 - Mary's Boy Child
13 - Mama Look a BooBoo
14 - Cocoanut Woman
15 - Island in the Sun
16 - Scratch Scratch
17 - Don't Ever Love Me
18 - Cordelia Brown
19 - Haiti Cheri
20 - Judy Drownded
21 - Lead Man Holler
22 - Sweetheart from Venezuela
23 - Gloria
24 - Monkey
25 - Reincarnation
26 - Tongue Tie Baby
27 - Don't Stop the Carnival
Disc 3:
1 - Banana Boat Song
2 - Marianne
3 - Marianne
4 - Calypso Melody
5 - In de Banana Tree
6 - Calypso Gal
7 - Bahama Mama
8 - Curiosity Calypso
9 - Mangos
10 - Yellow Bird
11 - Calypso Hooray
12 - Calypso Joe
13 - Freddy's New Calypso
14 - When Rock and Roll Come to Trinidad
15 - Dancing to the Rock and Rolla (Rum and Coca Cola)
16 - Calypso Rock & Roll
17 - Calypso Rock
18 - Calypso Rock
19 - Waikiki Farewell
20 - (Tell De Batter To) Hit de Long Ball
21 - Number One
22 - Zombie Jam-Boree
23 - Calypso Sweetheart
24 - Banana Boat Song
25 - Let's Go Calypso
26 - My Man True to Me
27 - Banana Boat (Day-O)
28 - Banana Boat Story (The Banana Boat Song)
29 - High Society Calypso
30 - Take Me, Take Me
31 - Don't Stop the Carnival
32 - Safety Song (Make the Last One For the Road a Cup of Coffee)
Disc 4:
1 - Tastes Like Strawberries
2 - Rock Calypso Joe
3 - Run Joe
4 - Donkey City
5 - Scandal in the Family
6 - Devil is a Woman
7 - Naughty Little Flea
8 - Shake Shake Senora
9 - Calypso Be Bop
10 - Donkey Bray
11 - Calypso Rock
12 - Fire Down Below
13 - What is This Generation Coming To?
14 - Jean and Dinah
15 - Don't Hurry Worry Me
16 - Go, Go, Calypso!
17 - Technique
18 - Mama Look a BooBoo (Boo Boo Man)
19 - Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree
20 - Boys Days
21 - Yankee Dollar
22 - Leave de Atom Alone
23 - Bottle Imp
24 - Sugar Cane
25 - Stew Pig Knuckles
26 - Wedding Bell Calypso (Man Talk Too Much)
27 - Calypso Dance
28 - Limbo
29 - Limbo
30 - Chalypso
Disc 5:
1 - Chocolate Whiskey and Vanilla Gin
2 - Day Dah Light (Banana Loaders' Song)
3 - London is the Place For Me
4 - Kitch (Small Comb, Scratch Me Head)
5 - Food from the West Indies
6 - Underground Train
7 - Tick! Tick! (The Story of the Lost Watch)
8 - Victory Test Match
9 - John Goddard
10 - Manchester United Calypso
11 - Kitch's Bebop Calypso
12 - Is Trouble
13 - Chinese Children
14 - Patricia Gone with Millicent
15 - No Carnival in Britain
16 - Brown Skin Gal
17 - Prince Rainer
18 - My Experience on the Reeperbahn
19 - Woman is a Man's Best Friend
20 - Liberia
21 - Last Train to San Fernando
22 - Sweetie Charlie
23 - Coffee Bar Calypso
24 - Gossip Calypso
25 - Shame and Scandal in the Family
Disc 6:
1 - Atomic Nightmare
2 - Don't You Call Me Boo Boo
3 - Collegiate Invasion
4 - Green Ticket
5 - Right Side of the Road
6 - Don't Touch Me Tomato
7 - Calypso Island
8 - Run, Come See Jerusalem
9 - Delia's Gone
10 - Hold ‘Em Joe
11 - Calypso Cha Cha Cha
12 - Don't Blame It on Elvis
13 - I Like Ike
14 - Scandal in St. Thomas
15 - Vim, Vigor and Vitality
16 - Calypso Joe
17 - Calypso Man
18 - Jack, Jack, Jack
19 - Calypso Blues
20 - Matilda
21 - Weekend News
22 - Atomic Energy
23 - Nescafe Calypso
24 - Limbo
25 - Ramadin
26 - Ugly Girls Have Pretty Names
27 - Mama Ist Aus Kuba
28 - Banana Boat Song
29 - If You Wanna Be Happy
Disc 7:
1 - March of Dimes Calypso [Clip]
2 - Stone Cold Dead in the Market [Clip]
3 - Willie Willie [Clip]
4 - Quarry Road [Clip]
5 - Fly Joe Fly [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
6 - Devil is a Woman [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
7 - Don't Spank de Baby [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
8 - Untitled Conga Line [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
9 - Calypsociety [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
10 - There's Only One Love (In a Woman's Life) [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
11 - Naughty Little Flea [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
12 - Untitled Percussion Jam [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
13 - Sweet Sugar Cane Marianne [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
14 - Marianne
15 - Take Me Down To Locero [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
16 - Po Mule [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
17 - Adam and Evil Blues [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
18 - Calypso Jamboree [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
19 - Can't Cross Over [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]
20 - Fly Joe Fly (Reprise) [From the Movie 'Calypso Joe', 1957]