Happy Music Monday! Some of you may have never heard of Lord Kitchener, and that's sort of understandable. First, he was recording right after World War II, which was a way back. Second, he was mostly in England, which is pretty far away for a pop song to travel. And third, he was singing about the experience of emigrating from the West Indies to London, which is not something of which many Americans would not expect to care. But Scott's never met a person who couldn't get into the joyful sound of calypso, so if you've never heard of Kitch, go ahead and give him a shot. You might just be pleased with what you find. We'll get back to the RIPs next week, but for now, let's have some fun!
Lord Kitchener - London Is The Place For Me
The hard part about Lord Kitchener is that he sort of seems to come out of a vacuum. It's not true, of course, he had some success in Trinidad and Jamaica before heading to England to be a big star, but YouTube doesn't seem to think so. You'll have to just trust me: by the time Lord Kitchener improvised this song about the joy of finding a new home, he was practiced and ready to play. And his calypso style was going to shake the British music scene greatly.
More smooth stuff to come after the jump.
Lord Beginner - Victory Test Match
For a lot of people in England in the early '60s, you weren't really British if you weren't white. But this song, kinda of the Super Bowl Shuffle of it's day, was really hard to ignore. It was sung by Lord Beginner, but it was written by Lord Kitchener. Obviously this didn't suddenly end all racism overnight, but when someone found out that person they were hating on loves the same team sport as you... well, maybe a few people rethought a few things a little bit. And for the cricket fans who were a bit more beige, it was a rare chance to actually feel involved. Which was the magic point where Kitch tended to shine.
Lord Kitchener - Take You Meat Out Me Rice
It's a human thing to want to be with some people who understand your culture like you do. You saw it in Paris in the 1930s, when all the Americans would hang out together and talk about Americany things. You also saw it in the West Indian community of London, sometimes because there was no place else for them to go once they arrived. The calypso sound both connected them to the traditional songs and stories they'd left behind while forced them to accept they were in a new place where they had to prove themselves again. And of course, along the way, they'd meet all the young white kids falling in love with a sound they'd never heard before. This is sorta where I come in.
Lord Kitchener - Sugar Bum Bum
By 1978, a lot of stuff had happened. Glam was almost over, punk was pretty settled, keyboards were all the rage, reggae and ska were taking over the island sound and metal was being born. In this atmosphere, it's hard to imagine that a guy doing music that had roots in the '50s would have some chart hits, but Lord Kitchner somehow managed it. And it's a good song too! I wouldn't really discover Calypso until later, and I only ever got to hear about how important Lord Kitchener was second-hand, but I encourage you do search up more about this very talented guy. It's heartwarming to know what he meant to people who really needed an entertainer to look up to in some difficult times.
Lord Kitchener - Jump In The Line
From Pitbull to The Cherry Poppin' Daddies to musician/activist Harry Belafonte's music in Beetlejuice, Kitch left a legacy that still lurks on the side of modern music, just waiting for someone to dig it all up and enjoy it again. When you finally find Lord Kitchener's music, you just fall in love with his entire body of work. You can't help it! Happy Birthday, Lord Kitchener. Thanks for the joy and fun in the midst of this terrible year for music.
Let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.