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Slinger Francisco, known
the world over as the Mighty
Sparrow, entered into this
life on July 9th, 1935,
in Grandroy Bay, Grenada,
West Indies. His father
was a carpenter who relocated
to Trinidad to earn a better
living. At the age of eighteen
months, Slinger and the
rest of his family joined
their father there. His
mother fondly remembers
doing her housework to the
accompaniment of Slinger
singing calypsos in the
house with a comb and a
piece of silver paper. When
Slinger attended Newton
Boys Catholic School, calypso
had assumed links with the
devil and was not considered
healthy entertainment for
young minds, so they were
discouraged from singing
them. But Sparrow loved
to sing in the weekly Friday
school concerts, and owing
to this bias against calypsos,
he restricted himself to
the ballad "Red River
Valley." To his former
teacher, Jadunath, it was
obvious that Sparrow was
a "natural." Jadunath
describes the young Sparrow
as a well-behaved and respectful
student, noting that even
though Sparrow did not complete
his education, he kept on
reading and studying on
his own throughout his life,
as his intelligent lyrics
and analysts of society
have time and time again
proven.
Sparrow's mother found him
a job at the Control Board
for $50 a month, but the
singing bird decided that
he preferred calypso as
a means to earn a living.
Holly Betaudier, who produced
calypso shows at the Lotus,
was impressed by the young
and determined Sparrow and
hired him to perform there
for a minimal fee. In 1956,
when Sparrow asked him for
leave so that he might try
his fortune at the Savannah
during Carnival, the disgruntled
Holly told him not to bother
coming back to look for
work. Little did he or any
one else know what an impact
Sparrow was going to make
that night. He was mistakenly
introduced on stage as Lord
Melody, and always the joker,
Sparrow proceeded to sing
Melody's tunes. When the
audience asked him for his
own original tunes, he sang
"Jean and Dinah,"
the song that would herald
the Sparrow era. Its lyrical
potency and infectious melody,
combined with the natural
talent and charm of Sparrow
won this artist his first
awards; a whooping double
for a first time contender
- both Calypso King and
the Road March crown. However,
this was not the first Sparrow
song sung on stage. In 1955,
he sang his first social
commentary, "High Cost
of Living," and the
double entendre "Race
Track." Both were forms
that would become synonymous
with his name.
Spurred on by his victories,
Sparrow went on what would
end up being a grueling
tour of Guyana, owing to
its extensive land and year-round
enjoyment of calypso. This
"marathon-style"
touring taught Sparrow the
spirit of perseverance,
endurance and sheer hard
work, travelling often times
by boat, truck and donkey
cart. This trial experience
surely contributed to his
self-discipline, staying
with him through the years
and explaining his unbelievable
stamina and accomplishments
to date.
When Sparrow first began
singing, he and his band
lacked adequate equipment,
calling themselves The Mough
Band, they imitated steelband
sounds, the tenors, cellos,
bass, iron. Sparrow contends
that his ability to make
his voice do anything out
of necessity explains some
of his appeal. (Whoever
has not seen Sparrow smack
his lips together and emit
that suggestive sound has
surely missed a treat-well,
to be quite honest, if you
haven't seem him perform,
you have definitely missed
one of the most entertaining,
rib-cracking and captivating
artists alive. That is an
unbiased opinion.)
Sparrow caters to both the
intellectuals and the dancers
in his songs, and considers
himself a "mouthpiece
of the underprivileged,"
discussing issues that affect
the population of the world
at large. Now a father of
nine and grandfather of
two, with at least 58 recorded
albums under his belt and
enough awards to sink a
ship, Sparrow remains a
charismatic, thoughtful
and jocular personality.
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