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.
Music of Barbados
The mid-20th century brought new forms of music from Trinidad, Brazil, the United States, Cuba and the Dominican Republic to Barbados, and the Barbadian calypso style came to be viewed as lowbrow or inferior. Promoters like Lord Silvers and Mighty Dragon, however, kept the popular tradition alive through shows at the Globe Theatre, featuring pioneers Mighty Romeo, Sir Don Marshall, Lord Radio and the Bimshire Boys and Mike Wilkinson. These performers set the stage for the development of popular Barbadian calypso in the 1960s.