Mother, manager and now author to the @KingofSoca
When you think of soca music, you think of Machel Montano. But while the entertainer has been diligently building his music catalogue and reach, his mother, Elizabeth Montano, has been working to seal his legacy.
“Lady” Montano (as she is affectionately known) has been a mother to the @kingofsoca for as many years as she has been his manager, confidante, educator and archivist. The latter led to her book, the King of Soca: The Ultimate Insider Reveals How Machel Montano Became One of the World's Most Popular Soca Artists, which launched on July 26. It was an idea she had long envisioned. Still, it took complete form when she pursued a Master in Philosophy in Cultural Studies at UWI St Augustine.
Montano is no stranger to The UWI. She first started at the university in 1976 (Mona Campus) with a Certificate in Education before pursuing her degree in that field. After some years, she read for her Postgraduate Diploma in Entertainment Management.
"Then I thought, let me take a chance at the MPhil in Cultural Studies. That programme lined up with our core competencies of what we were doing as a family, so it was almost natural that I would pursue this programme," she says.
She graduated in 2018.
King of Soca is a 308-page coffee table book in this first incarnation, organised in five distinct eras: The Early Years, The Winer Boi, The HD, Monk Monté and Beyond 40.
Resplendent with vivid stories, guest contributors and vibrant photos, the book documents soca's most prominent star from a small stage to the world stage. While capturing the evolution of soca music, it also captures the journey of a precocious youth from a small sleepy village who was “too young to soca”, to the music man who moved millions of waistlines in sync around the globe. His largest attendance on record, in March 2022, saw over 140 million people tune in as he shared the stage with world-renowned yogi and mystic, Sadhguru.
"I strongly believe that we need to tell more of our Caribbean stories, and I wanted to do it in the traditional way – a book,” says Lady Montano. “At first, people thought the idea and vision could not be executed and printed in Trinidad. I was told that at first it would have to be black and white if it was being done locally, but how can we tell our Caribbean story – the story of Trinidad and Tobago and soca, in black and white?
“Our whole world is colour, and our story is colour. My life is a full and vibrant one. In showing it to Machel, we are both very pleased and excited with this book," Montano highlighted in her interview with UWI TODAY.
The cover of the King of Soca features a historic photo from 1984, with The Mighty Sparrow, Shadow and Lord Kitchener holding up a young Machel Montano “as if they are presenting him to the world” at an event at Madison Square Garden in New York. It covers a range of anecdotes and recollections from the “exhilarating to harrowing”.
Lady Montano recalls how controversy followed the young singer from his earliest years. The family was called irresponsible for their pursuit of their youngest member's dreams.
"What people did not know is that Marcus and Machel's parents were teachers, and my sons lived a very structured and balanced life," she says. "Both of our children did well in their education – this, as I said, was very important to myself and their father. This was what our own parents taught us,"
She adds, "We also emphasised the value of extra-curricular activities. We first signed up Marcus (Machel's elder brother) for guitar lessons and then Machel joined in to sing along. And we realised, he had a good and unique voice."
Lady Montano calls on parents to guide their children’s natural and unique abilities to do the same – no matter what the world says.
She is still an active educator, teaching the last of her six grandchildren who just graduated from secondary school. She has also played a vital role in Montano's Chocolate Company, a family-run chocolate and chocolate product company founded in 2014. In addition, she plans to use her book to educate and inspire a whole new generation of young people in the coming months.
Lady Montano, an icon in her own right, continues to support her family's dreams and goals. Though she has slowed down to enjoy life in the last few years, she has no plans on stopping.
Now we know where the soca star gets his energy from.
King of Soca is available for order (with delivery by Unqueue) through the website www.kingofsoca.com and will be available at Paper Based Bookshop at the Normandie and Nigel R Khan. For regular updates, follow @kingofsoca across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
