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TOURIST LEGGO - THE SONG THAT ROCKED TRINIDAD IN THE 70'S

SIR MCCLEAN EMMANUEL - KING SHORT SHIRT - 2007 CARIBBEAN CALYPSO MONARCH

Early Days

The Monarch. King Short Shirt. Brother Emmanuel. Musical ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda.

Whatever you choose to call him, you can’t help but marvel at this self-taught calypsonian whose near-prophetic music is arguably more relevant today than it was over 30 years ago.

On the invitation of a friend who knew of his talent, McLean Emmanuel traveled to St. Thomas after leaving school in Antigua. There, he landed a day job as a construction worker and a small singing gig at a local bar in the evenings.

Competition Debut

He returned to Antigua in 1962 and entered his first calypso competition. He was eliminated in the first round. The following year, 1963, he copped second position with his renditions of “Shakespearean” and “Straight Hair”. By 1964, however, his awesome talent could no longer be contained and he waltzed off with top honours singing “No Place Like Home” and “Heritage”.

Successive wins were secured in 1965 and 66, then again in 1969 and 1970. In all, he won 15 titles between 1964 and 1992 – his last year of competition – including 6 wins during his ‘decade of victory’ from 1970 to 1979. No calypsonian before or since has accomplished as much, and many feel the history of modern calypso in Antigua is the history of Short Shirt’s development.

Legacy

The Monarch’s legacy is one of scathing social commentary against injustice of all kinds. The energies of the Black Power Movement of the late 1960’s are evident in some of his earlier tunes like “Black Like Me” and “Afro Antiguan”. His classic hit “Lamentation” was an indication of the disillusionment which had set in by 1973, and Short Shirt actually lost the local crown with the song which is as relevant today as it was then.

Road March Challenges

Amazingly, Short Shirt was also the most successful challenger for the coveted Road March title, with 7 wins including such songs as “Lucinda”, “Jammin”, “Summer Festival” and “J’Ouvert Rhythm”. The 1976 hit “Tourist Leggo” created such a stir during Trinidad’s Carnival that it forced that country’s authorities to initiate a ban on all foreign tunes from the Road March competition.

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