The Trinidad and Tobago Government will accord calypso icon Dr Slinger ‘Mighty Sparrow’ Francisco an official state-assisted funeral, as the country prepares a national tribute to the legendary Calypso King of the World
Culture and Community Development Minister Michelle Benjamin made the announcement in the House of Representatives on Thursday as she paid tribute to Sparrow, who died peacefully in New York on Sunday, September 27, at the age of 91, surrounded by family.
Benjamin said a committee has already been established to work with Sparrow’s family to ensure
that he receives ‘a funeral fit for a legend.’
‘Under the direction of the Prime Minister, an official state-assisted funeral will be held, a date to be fixed,’ Benjamin said.
She also announced that Calypso History Month, which begins Friday, will be observed this year in Sparrow’s memory.
The Ministry of Culture and Community Development, in collaboration with TUKO, will stage a national tribute, while books of condolences will be opened at several locations, including regional corporations, the National Academy for the Performing Arts, the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, the Shore Park Cultural Complex in Tobago and the ministry’s main office at Tower C, International Waterfront Complex.
Benjamin described Sparrow’s death as the loss of ‘one of the greatest cultural figures this country has ever produced.’
‘Dr Slinger Francisco O.R.T.T., the Mighty Sparrow, the Calypso King of the World. He was 91,’ she said.
She extended condolences to his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the calypso fraternity, the people of Trinidad and Tobago and Sparrow’s many admirers around the world.
Benjamin also expressed condolences to the people of Grenada, where Sparrow was born in Grand Roy on July 9, 1935.
‘We grieve with you for a son we have shared for 90 years,’ she said.
Born Slinger Francisco, Sparrow rose from humble beginnings to become one of the Caribbean’s most influential musical figures. He won both the Calypso King and Road March titles in 1956 with ‘Jean and Dinah’ and went on to build a career spanning more than seven decades.
Benjamin noted that Sparrow used his music not only to entertain but also to challenge authority and address social and political issues.
‘He sang the truth when others kept quiet. He stood up to those in power, that he did, and he held up a mirror so ordinary people could see their own lives in his songs,’ she said.
During a career of about 70 years, Sparrow composed more than 500 calypsos and recorded more than 70 albums. He won eight Calypso Monarch titles, eight Road March titles and twice captured the Calypso King of Kings title.
Benjamin said, however, that Sparrow’s greatest honour came from the affection of the people.
‘It was the way a Sparrow song could play and the entire gathering would know the words,’ she said.
‘That mighty man, the Mighty Sparrow, has taken his final bow. His music and his legacy remains, and it is ours. May his soul rest in eternal peace.’
News of Sparrow’s death has prompted tributes across the Caribbean and its diaspora, including from Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke of New York.
Clarke, whose congressional district includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, extended condolences to Sparrow’s family and fans, describing him as an internationally renowned cultural icon.
‘Though he was born in Grenada and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, the Mighty Sparrow’s talent was so substantial and his art so impactful, it could not be confined to the nations of the Caribbean, but instead came to be beloved across the globe,’ Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation.
She said Sparrow’s legacy would endure as that of ‘a consummate entertainer,’ cultural institution, trailblazer and innovator.
‘And, though our sorrow is great, may we find comfort in knowing that tonight, the Kingdom of Heaven will ring alive with sweet steel melodies and the songs and sounds of our people,’ Clarke said.
Quoting Matthew 25:23, she added: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’
Sparrow’s death has also brought renewed attention to his longstanding connections within the Caribbean music industry and its diaspora.
Dr Suzanne Straker Greenidge-Hewitt, daughter of the late Vincentian-born Granville Leonard Straker, known as a major figure in the development of soca music and founder of Straker’s Records, said Sparrow was not only an artist her father admired but also a friend of the family.
Straker’s Records, which was based in Brooklyn, released The Best of The Mighty Sparrow – Live at The Blue Coronet in Brooklyn in 1970, followed by additional Sparrow recordings on the label in the early 1970s.
‘Sparrow was a friend of our family, and I remember my father affectionately referring to him as ‘Birdie’,’ Straker Greenidge-Hewitt told CMC.
She noted that Sparrow died exactly one month after her father, who died on August 27.
‘The timing of their passing feels especially poignant to us – daddy on Aug. 27 and Sparrow exactly one month later on Sept. 27,’ she said.
Straker’s Records released an estimated 600 to 700 albums, more than 1,000 12-inch records and several thousand singles during its approximately three decades in operation. Its roster included generations of Caribbean performers, among them Calypso Rose, The Mighty Shadow, Black Stalin, Chalkdust, Lord Nelson, Lord Melody, the Mighty Duke, Explainer, Winston Soso, Singing Francine and Machel Montano.
‘These records are more than vinyl to our family; they are pieces of Caribbean music history and evidence of the relationships, friendships and cultural work that helped carry this music from the islands to Brooklyn and throughout the Diaspora,’ Straker Greenidge-Hewitt said.
Gil T. Figaro Sr., Trinidadian-born founder and chairman of the Sunshine Awards in Teaneck, New Jersey, also paid tribute to Sparrow, describing his death as the closing of a chapter in the cultural history of the Caribbean.
‘There are moments in history when the passing of an individual is not simply the end of a life, but the closing of a chapter in the cultural story of a people,’ Figaro told CMC.
‘The Mighty Sparrow, Dr. Slinger Francisco, has departed this earthly life and entered into the presence of our Lord. With his passing, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, the Caribbean and the world have lost one of the most extraordinary voices ever to emerge from the rich tradition and sounds of calypso.’
Figaro said he was privileged to be at Sparrow’s bedside with members of his family during his final hours.
He said Sparrow had spent about 71 years before audiences around the world and accomplished what few performers have done: commanding the stage while transforming calypso into a vehicle for entertainment, social commentary, history and cultural expression.
‘His voice could make an audience laugh, think, question, celebrate and sometimes confront uncomfortable realities,’ Figaro said.
Sparrow’s family said he died after a brief illness and that arrangements are being made for a public celebration of his life.
The official state-assisted funeral and national tributes will provide Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean with an opportunity to honour an artist whose music helped define generations and carried the sounds and stories of the Caribbean to audiences around the world.