Click here for individual Newsletters
These irregularly issued newsletters were started out of the desire by calypso researcher Ray Funk to reach a number of e-mail correspondents with the latest news on calypso as well as provide background on classic calypsos. The first newsletter was initially sent out the summer of 1997 as bulk e-mail to a dozen friends and calypso researchers ... since then the free newsletter has expanded and goes out to about one hundred people. Certain newsletters have been reprinted in various print journals from the Trinidad Express to Everybody's and So Ya Coming to Carnival. Each newsletter is added to the Musical Traditions site upon release. A selected Index of contents is given (below). If you want to receive the newsletters directly or to offer questions, suggestions, etc., contact Ray Funk at:
P O Box 72387, Fairbanks, Alaska. 99707 USA E-mail: Rfunk@ptialaska.net
Click here for individual Newsletters
Ray works in the legal profession in Fairbanks, Alaska and does a weekly world music radio show called Funk Roots on KUAC-FM every Sunday. In the 1980s, he started extensive research on the history of á capella Black gospel singing and has done liner notes for over fifty albums and compact discs as well as a smattering of articles. More recently, his passion for calypso has become the primary focus of his music research.
| Calypsonians: | |||||
| Almanac | 2 | Duke of Iron | 29 | Observer | 13 |
| Arrow | 15 | Figgy | 22 | Popo | 35 |
| Becket | 20 | King Fighter | 30 | Josephine Premice | 32 |
| Lionel Belasco | 22 | Funny | 10 | Renegade | 16 |
| Bomber | 19 | Gorilla | 6 | Small Island Pride | 5 |
| Marie Bryant | 26 | Shirlane Hendrickson | 6 | Mighty Sparrow | 23 |
| Lord Canary | 9 | Lord Intruder | 3v | Black Stalin | 17 |
| Lord Caruso | 23 | Killer | 11v | Lady Trinidad | 18 |
| Chang Kai Chek | 18 | John King | 27 | Unknown Soldier | 5 |
| The Charmer | 31 | Sir Lancelot | 19 | Whaler | 6 |
| Conqueror | 16 | Roaring Lion | 1, 2, 25 | Wonder | 14 |
| Cristo | 4 | Melody | 12 | Zebra | 22 |
| De Alberto | 5 | ||||
| Calypso Song Lyrics | ||
| Bomber | Court Jester | 21 |
| Lord Brynner | Trinidad & Tobago Independence | 28 |
| Caruso | Sparrow Shooting Incident | 23 |
| Chang Kai Chek | Four Foolish People | 18 |
| Chang Kai Chek | Independence | 3 |
| Conqueror | Good Name | 16 |
| Cristo | Bumble Bee | 4 |
| King Fighter | People Will Talk | 30 |
| Funny | Check Up | 10 |
| Killer | Green Fowl | 10 |
| Kitchener | Birth of Ghana | 8 |
| Sir Lancelot | Trinidad is Changing | 19 |
| Lion | Cavalcade | 2 |
| Melody | Tribute to Kitchener | 12 |
| Observer | Ban Nuculer Weapons | 13 |
| Popo | Prisoner's Regret | 35 |
| Skipper | Epitone | 3 |
| Small Island Pride | Letter from Executor | 5 |
| Small Island Pride | As Time Hard I Goin' in for Farmin' | 1 |
| Sniper | Way to Success (Productivity) | 11 |
| Stalin | The Message of Martin Luther King | 17 |
| Whaler | Whaler's Visit to Ghana | 6 |
| Wonder | My Trouble with the Eastern Market | 14 |
| Zebra | Ping-Pong | 2 |
| Calypso from other than Trinidad | Other Topics | ||
| Antigua | 26 | Calypsos on Africa | 8 |
| Aruba | 26 | Caribbean Carnival (1947 calypso musical on Broadway) | 29 |
| Barbados | 26, 27 | Carnival 2000 | 34 |
| Dominica | 20 | Lisa Lekis | 21 |
| Grenada | 26 | Martin Luther King calypsos | 17 |
| Guyana | 3,9 | Travel books mentioning calypso | 24 |
| St Lucia | 26 | Windjammer (film with calypso music) | 21 |
| Virgin Islands | 16, 22 | ||
| Calypso Tents | Record Labels | CD Reviews | |||
| Kaiso Showcase | 32 | Affonso | 3 | The Charmer: Calypso Favorites, Bostrox 9908 | 31 |
| Antillana | 1 | ||||
| Book Notices and Reviews | |
| Calypsonians from Then to Now. Rudy Ottley | 10 |
| Island Sounds in the Global City: Caribbean Popular Music in New York. R Allen & L Wilcken, ed. New York Folklore Society, Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College, 1998 | 7 |
| Swing It! The Andrews Sisters. John Sforza, Lexington University of Kentucky Press, 1999 | 33 |
| The Drama Review, Special Issue on Trinidad and Tobago Carnival | 7 |
Article MT040
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