Calypso music
The first major stars of calypso started crossing over to new audiences worldwide in the late 1930s. Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion and Lord Invader were first, followed by Lord Kitchener, one of the longest-lasting calypso stars in history—he continued to release hit records until his death in 2000. 1944's "Rum and Coca-Cola" by the Andrews Sisters, a cover version of a Lord Invader song, became an American hit despite the song being a very critical commentary on the explosion of prostitution, inflation and other negative influences accompanying the American military bases in Trinidad at the time. Perhaps the most straightforward way to describe the focus of calypso is that it articulated itself as a form of protest against the authoritarian colonial culture which existed at the time.
HiFi Calypso
Karl Zéro's first album, "Songs for Cabriolets y Otros Tipos de Vehiculos", was a collection of covers of international pop standards of the 1940s and 1950 (including "Perfidia" and "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"). For his next album, he set his mind on recording calypso songs, and started looking for a reggae band. He then learned that Tyrone Downie, which was a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers, lived in Montpellier. It turned out that Downie used to watch Zéro's weekly TV show, "". He agreed to participate, and contacted other members of the band to recruit them to the project.