Charlie's Roots

The story so far.

Written and edited by Smokiller

Charlie's Roots is a brass band from Trinidad and Tobago named after Rawlston Charles, the Brooklyn record store owner and founder of Charlie's Records, who sponsored it. According to Caribbean Beat, the band grew out of a struggling group led by the young arranger Pelham Goddard, and Charles gave them US$14,000 for instruments and equipment. The band was popular for years before lead singer David Rudder emerged as a solo calypsonian in 1986, winning both the Road March and the National Calypso Monarch crown that year with "Bahia Girl" among his songs. Another lead singer, Chris "Tambu" Herbert, began a three-year run of Road March wins in 1988. Both continued to sing with Charlie's Roots, and from 1988 their albums carried their own names with the band as backing. The group also released records under its own name, including a version of "Pastime Paradise".