Mighty Sparrow, calypso's 'king of the world', dies aged 91

Slinger Francisco, the calypsonian known across the world as the Mighty Sparrow, has died aged 91.

His family said the Grenada-born, Trinidad-raised performer died peacefully in New York on Sunday, surrounded by loved ones, after a brief illness. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Trinidad and Tobago’s Calypso icon, Slinger Francisco, known to the world as ‘The Mighty Sparrow’,” the family said in a statement issued by Karen Francisco on Sunday afternoon.

Dubbed the “Calypso King of the World”, Sparrow was one of the most influential figures in Caribbean music, with a career spanning more than seven decades. Born in the coastal town of Grand Roy, Grenada, in July 1935, he moved with his parents to Trinidad and Tobago in 1937, the birthplace of calypso.

He got his breakthrough in calypso music with his 1956 hit “Jean and Dinah”, and went on to win Trinidad and Tobago’s Calypso King or Monarch title eight times and the Carnival Road March competition on eight occasions, producing hundreds of recordings that explored politics, social issues, relationships and everyday Caribbean life.

The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation called him “a defining voice of our culture, a master storyteller and a towering figure whose music helped carry calypso from Trinidad and Tobago to the world”.

The family said he was also a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, life partner and friend, and that in his final days he had been baptised into the Seventh-day Adventist faith.

Sources

• Associated Press: Calypso icon Slinger Francisco, dubbed ‘The Mighty Sparrow,’ dies at 91, his family says
• Jamaica Gleaner (CMC): Calypso icon Mighty Sparrow dies at 91
• Trinidad Express: Mighty Sparrow dead at 91
• The Guardian: Mighty Sparrow, the Trinidad and Tobago singer known as the ‘calypso king of the world’, dies aged 91