PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — Calypso music lost one of its most iconic voices on Sunday with the death of Slinger Francisco, known on stage as the Mighty Sparrow and known as the “Calypso King of the World”. He was 91.
Francisco, who achieved a breakthrough in calypso music with his 1956 hit “Jean and Dinah,” died peacefully surrounded by his family in New York, his family said in a statement. His death came after a “short illness,” the statement said without revealing any other details.
“He was an institution in the entertainment industry, highly respected for his skill and reputation as a singer, songwriter and mentor; loved by many,” Francisco’s family said.
The Mighty Sparrow will be remembered as “a distinctive voice of our culture, a master storyteller and a towering figure who helped bring calypso music from Trinidad and Tobago to the world,” the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Group said in a statement.
Born in the coastal town of Grand Roy, Grenada, in July 1935, Francisco was just a toddler when he immigrated with his parents to Trinidad and Tobago in 1937.
Trinidad and Tobago is the place where calypso music was born, and this is where the name and personality of the Mighty Sparrow reappear to make a list of famous songs in the genre: Both of Them, Congo Man, Mr. Walker, The Lizard and many others.
“Birdie,” as Francisco was also affectionately known, recorded hundreds of songs in a career that spanned six decades. He played in several countries around the world, including at famous venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Throughout his career, Francisco’s goal was to promote the calypso art form, according to Trinidadian cultural historian and author Dr. Rudolph Ottley.
“The Mighty Sparrow was the ultimate entertainer, cultural revolutionary and one of the world’s greatest Calypsonians,” Dr. Ottley told The Associated Press.
Trinidad and Tobago have honored the composer and performer with national awards, and in 1987 the University of the West Indies awarded Francisco an honorary Doctor of Letters.