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.
Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
Large-scale Caribbean migration to England recommenced following the Second World War in 1948. The "Empire Windrush" carried almost 500 passengers from Jamaica, including Lord Kitchener, a calypso singer from Trinidad. By chance, a local newsreel company filmed him singing "London Is The Place For Me" as he got off the ship. In 2002, "London Is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso, 1950-1956" was finally released in Britain. The 1951 Festival of Britain brought the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TAPSO) and Roaring Lion to public attention. The smart set in Oxford and Cambridge adopted both calypso and steelband for debutante parties. In 1959, Trinidadian Claudia Jones started the Notting Hill Carnival. They brought Mighty Sparrow and others directly from Trinidad. Edric Connor had arrived in England from Trinidad in 1944. He starred in a West End musical called "Calypso" in 1948. A white Danish duo, Nina & Frederik, recorded several calypsos from 1958 to 1962, scoring in the charts. Cy Grant (from Guyana) sang a song by Lord Kitchener in the TV drama "A Man From the Sun" in 1956. It told the story of Caribbean migrants. From 1957 to 1960, Grant sang calypsos on the BBC TV news programme "Tonight". In 1962. English comedian Bernard Cribbins had a hit with "Gossip Calypso".