November 2015


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It is a living vibration / Rooted deep within my Caribbean belly.
Lyrics to make a politician cringe / And turn a woman’s body into jelly.

-Calypso Music,David Rudder

David Michael Rudder’s unique blend of calypso, pop, jazz, blues heavily influenced by the Shango rhythms of his childhood, transcends boundaries of genre, culture, ethnicity, language and geography. His lyrics have so captured the essence of what it means to be Trinidadian, Tobagonian, Caribbean, human – that many of his songs have become unofficial anthems across the region and resonate with audiences near and far.

He grew up in Belmont and began singing with a group called The Solutions when he was 11 years old. As a young man he worked as an accountant during the day while moonlighting as a back-up singer at Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Revue tent. In 1977, at age 24, he joined the popular band, Charlie’s Roots and in 1986 his solo career started with a bang when he released his first album, The Hammer, which contained what are now calypso classics: The Hammer and Bahia Gyal. The following year he issued another classic, Calypso Music and in 1998 came the Haiti album featuring the haunting song of the same name and the cricket anthem, Rally ’Round the West Indies.

David Rudder made history in 1986 by winning almost every calypso competition that season: the Young King title, National Calypso Monarch, the Road March and Panorama. By his own account, it was after he won the Calypso Monarch crown that none other than the Mighty Sparrow gave him a new name – King David. Since then the awards and accolades – locally and abroad – have continued to flow like water.

In 1992, now Professor Emeritus, Gordon Rohlehr heralded Rudder as “A Mighty Poet of a Shallow People in a Savage Time.” In songs such as Another Day in Paradise, Hosay and High Mas, to name just a few, David Rudder has used his music to hold up a mirror to Trinidad and Tobago society, to plumb the depths of the region’s collective soul and to call attention to the plight of the oppressed in places such as Haiti and South Africa. In 1996, he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

Over the course of his career, David Rudder has released more than 30 albums. He has performed across the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Japan, sharing stages with renowned musicians. Back at home his collaborations in the 1980s and 1990s with mas designer, Peter Minshall, are legendary and today he works with and inspires a new generation of local music artistes. He has made forays into acting on both the large and small screens and while best known for his music, this former apprentice to the late master copper craftsman, Ken Morris, still paints today and actually sees himself more as an artist rather than an entertainer.

(Nicole Huggins-Boucaud)