Trinidad's most successful,innovative and best Calypsonian ever.I wonder if many Trinis will agree.
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David Michael Rudder...
In reply to granite
If I put blueboy/superblue on one side of Rudder, and Kitch on the other side, can you tell them apart?
In addition to the one named by Halloween damn autocrrect.....Halliwell (sorry man...just noticed this). add Maestro, Merchant, Duke
And Rudder wasnt really a calypsonian. He was a self confessed chantwell. He straddled the 2 genres.....calypso and soca. Much like Lord Shortly.
Now if you say he was more prolific in terms of material.....you might have a point.
David Rudder took Calypso to another level, lyrically, and musically.
Do not discount, ever, the genius of Sparrow.
After Sparrow, is the great Kitch.
I cannot say DMR is the greatest.
In reply to granite
You lookin for trouble......
as Rudder said in song ' to call one name could make the others seem bad'
In reply to granite
I had a friend that was a dj and he said 'David Rudder came before his time but his time will never come'.
In reply to granite
Rudder had his own class. I think his contribution is not fully appreciated. I think he is a great.
In reply to methodic
I think you summed it up well,so I have learned from people who know better,I say that with some feelings.I have read up on Rudder's early background,what a story.Who in the Calypso world can match his lyrics,he is a class above,you cannot put him down or fault him in any department.I am not as versed as some ah you blokes,but I respect you all, still, I won't change.
Lockdown doh affect me as long as ah can listen to "The Rudder",starting with "This is Trinidad".
An island dong in the south by de Orinico mouth".Raise yuh hand but never surrender.
Beat that nah!!!!
Sparrow is incomparable. The battle is for 2nd place.
And if soca is included, Machel is easily the most successful
In reply to VIX
Some of our Calysonians are brilliant I know that,I love some of the old timers and when any Trini fren or family coming up I ask them to bring old time ones as well as the new boys.I do have a lot of old tunes,and one is a certain Lord Blakie and Steel Band Clash is ah favourite.
In reply to VIX
finally someone speaking sense
Sparrow
Machel
If we talking Calypso then David Rudder name has to be mentioned in any conversation. If we talking greatest Calypsonians its always been contention between Sparrow and Kitchener as to who were the greatest. However Rudder name is up there. Important to mention Calypso Rose recent years album success in France helping expose Calypso music.
If we talking Soca, there is no doubt Machel Montano is #1
Kitch
We in a thread about David Ruder in a West Indies cricket forum and no one yet mentioned the official forever WI cricket anthem? Link Text
David will be disapoointed
In reply to granite
Rudder the most successful depends on what you consider successful? Do you mean the richest? Do you mean the most popular? Do you mean the most crowns? He is neither of the three. Arrow with Calypso's child Soca is probably the richest. Most popular would be Sparrow. Most innovative definitely not.
Innovative?
Yes David is an innovator in some respects. Bahia Gyal his road march/calypso monarch winner brought Shango into the Kaiso but Super blue(Blueboy as he was known then) used to fuse the Shango/Kaiso long before that eg. Soca Baptist released in 80 way before Rudder won with Bahia Gyal in 86. 'Calypso Music' brought the Pelharm Goddard Charlies roots style of Calypso which saw great success with Rudder and Chris Tambu Herbert. I believe that the innovation can be credited to the arranger Goddard and Rudder. What about other innovators like Ras shorty I, Shadow and Kitchener? I rate those way higher than Rudder in terms of instrumentally changing the calypso art form.
Best?
How do we rate best? Performance? Lyrics? Melodies? Lyrics and melody wise Rudder up there with the best but performance Sparrow, Kitchener, Superblue, Shadow, Black Stalin these guys rated higher than Rudder.
David is one of my influences but to rate him as the best, most successful and most innovative is a bit stretching it.
In reply to doosra
Machel certainly is rated as a top entertainer, but as a artist of Trinidad music he definitely not in my top 50.
In reply to methodic
Machel as an entertainer in his prime that is early days of Xtatik was top notch, nowadays he is crap live. Kes and Bunji pass him up. No doubt when it comes to performers ( in their prime) and commercial success he is top of the list.
chalkie
In reply to sudden
Chalkie, Blue, Machel, Sparrow carved out unique niches.
I fear the niches of Maestro, Lion et. al. have all but disappeared.
Ah was beginning to wonder if dere was no love for Chalkie or Duke
In reply to voiceofreason
We see entertainment as just party. One of the great calypso entertainers is Lord Relator.
In reply to methodic
Relator might just be the best value of any performer from T&T
He lacks a multitude of original work though.
But damn......he is an entertainer supreme
In reply to granite
Songwriting ability and melodies is the judge... probably ... although roaring lion was easy...
In reply to imusic
If you want dance/party music yuh cant call Relator.
Rudder is one of the greats...melody and lyrics boss. He in my top 5.
He unlike my other greats was mashing up party during my party days so on a personal level he is quite unique
In reply to voiceofreason
VOR,let me say how tings go for many in working on the best of anything.You and many other responses are very well dissected,very educated and many are living in parts of the world you can party to music of the land so you have more to go on,I don't experience the same as many.My love for Rudder come straight from my heart,when I hear the man the hairs on hands stand up,the others don't do that to me,but I still like them.
Me sister tell a lil story bout Arrow.
Anytime someone is calling David Rudder the greatest in calypso he is going down the Michael Jackson line in respect of material/ performance/ vocal range.
In that Sparrow reigned supreme....but Sparrow is now aging so now Rudder reigns supreme.
Kitchener Shadow and Arrow has more hits and a greater body of material esp Kitchener and Shadow but they are all now deceased.
Therefore as to the greatest living performer of ones own body of work existing today David Michael Rudder sits atop the calypso throne.
I music summed it up holistically and historically however.
Rudder is a chantwell...arguably the greatest ever of all the chantwells.
In these arguments one must not dismiss the historical definition.
I had never heard the term "chantwell" before reading this thread. Who are some other examples of chantwells besides Rudder?
In reply to cedaw
At the turn of the last century before the popularity of calypsonians and the coming of the steel pan, the chantwell led the bands in carnival, leading the way in songs he created.
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