Dr. King Might Have Approved: Mighty Sparrow and "Death of Martin Luther King"

It's hard to come up with an upbeat song about an assassination, but Mighty Sparrow did it in our random tune for today, called Death of Martin Luther King. Born in 1935, Slinger Francisco aka Mighty Sparrow is one of the giants of calypso music, and for his lifetime of work has received the highest order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and also was made a officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He is also known as the Calypso King of the World. Born in Grenada, he moved to Trinidad and Tobago as a small child and initially his love of calypso was thwarted while in Catholic school, where he sang in choir. As a teenager, he joined a steel band, and earned the name Little Sparrow during his early music career for his energetic performances. He later changed his performing name to Mighty Sparrow, and in 1956 he won his first Calypso King competition (he is a multiple winner). He was also a social activist - because he received so little for winning the Calypso King competition, he organized other musicians to boycott Carnival and he claimed to have succeeded in making conditions better for Trinidadian musicians. He also was able to take advantage of calypso's brief popularity, coinciding with Harry Belafonte's Calypso album, in the rest of the world. In the late 70s and 80s, calypso began to be eclipsed by soca, and Mighty Sparrow began performing hybrid music by mixing calypso, soca and local music called chutney. His style is described as witty, ironic and ribald, and he frequently comments on political and social issues, as well as themes of peace, tolerance and concern for the poor. You can find Death of Martin Luther King on his 2001 album Corruption.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.