Lionel Belasco

• Genre: Calypso

About

Lionel Belasco is a preeminent figure in the formation of Calypso music in Trinidad. Born in 1881, he reputedly had already written over four hundred songs by the age of sixteen. Classically trained on piano, he enjoyed respectable parlor music as well as folk music from the Caribbean and Venezuela. As a bandleader, he utilized brass, guitar, violin and minimal percussion while coaxing bright, sweet melodies from the piano, and ballads, waltzes, Calypsos, joropos, Rumbas and pastiches were all part of his repertoire. He toured extensively throughout the Caribbean, the Americas, and Europe in the early twentieth century, and also appeared in films. With a fondness for "bush music," as he called it, Belasco incorporated Afro-Caribbean rhythms into his compositions. Many of his compositions have worked their way into popular music throughout the Americas, including the unforgettable "Rum and Coca-Cola," (based on his "L'anee Passee"). Charismatic and prolific, Lionel Belasco's legacy is in the irresistible charm of his songs.

- Robert Leaver