Washington (DC), USA - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has released First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection by The Mighty Sparrow. It documents the early recordings of a Caribbean legend. The Mighty Sparrow whose given name is Slinger Francisco, is the unrivaled "Calypso King of the World, with a career that spans over 40 years and includes numerous honors.

The eighteen tracks on First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection find Sparrow taking on various dramatic voices, from sexually adventurous antihero to grieving lover. Highlights include "Sparrow verses Melody Picong" and "Reply to Melody," just two of over twenty calypsos from a musical insult war between Sparrow and Lord Melody that lasted from 1957 to l962. "Mad Bomber" and "Russian Satellite" are topical calypsos, capturing unique perspectives on events that defined the Cold War era. "Gun Slingers" is Sparrow's portrayal of the street culture in Trinidad.

Born in Grenada in 1935, Slinger Francisco grew up in Port of Spain. Trinidad, a dangerous and exciting setting. Experimenting with calypso and teaching himself guitar, he adopted The Mighty Sparrow moniker in 1955, recording over 200 calypsos by 1967.

The celebrated calypso musician has won the King of Kings Competition, Tobago's Carnival Road March Competition, and the Road March Competition many times, including sweeping all three in 1958. On May 18,1984. Ed Koch declared it to be Mighty Sparrow's Day in New York City.

Calypso scholar Gordon Rohlehr compiled 'First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection-from four Cook Records LPs released between 1956 and 1959: 'Calypso Kings and Pink Gin," "King Sparrow's Calypso Carnival," " Tour of Stereo," and "Sparrow in Hi-Fi." This is the third Smithsonian Folkways Recordings reissue from the remarkable recordings of Emory Cook, an audio engineer. inventor and record label founder. First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection includes Rohlehr's extensive liner notes, including track-by-track commentary as well as rare photographs.

[Buy First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection].