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Calypso • Trinidad and Tobago
Lord Invader
Calypso across Trinidad, New York and the Asch recordings.
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Behind the music
The story so far.
Lord Invader was the performing name of Rupert Westmore Grant, a Trinidadian calypsonian whose career connected Trinidad’s competitions and recording studios with New York and tours abroad. Smithsonian Folkways describes his upbringing around San Fernando, his work in the Port-of-Spain calypso scene and recordings for RCA Bluebird. He later recorded for Moses Asch in New York and toured the United States, Britain and Europe. The Folkways collection Calypso in New York offers a documented route into that recording career: its booklet identifies the Asch recordings as spanning 1946–1961 and supplies session notes for 26 selections. These notes distinguish individual sessions, named musicians and instruments whose players remain unidentified. New York Subway and My Intention Is War are two listening entry points from the collection. Their modern release pages identify the compilation appearances; the booklet supplies the separate historical performance context. This distinction matters when comparing a later album date with the age of a calypso performance.
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Credits, versions and context
BEHIND THE SONGS.
- Cousin Family — Lord Invader: the Felix ensemble recording
Lord Invader’s “Cousin Family” appears with Felix and his Internationals on Calypso in New York. The booklet distinguishes it from a different Destroyer song bearing the same title.
- God Made Us All — Lord Invader and Pete Seeger: the 1946 performance
“God Made Us All” brings Lord Invader and Pete Seeger together in the Smithsonian’s Calypso in New York selection. The session header identifies the Union Hootenanny in New York on May 9, 1946.
- I’m Going Back to Africa — Lord Invader: the 1961 New York version
The performance of “I’m Going Back to Africa” closing Calypso in New York was recorded in New York on June 6, 1961. The booklet contrasts it with a Paris recording from 1956.
- Labor Day (Jump in the Line) — Lord Invader: the circa 1948 recording
“Labor Day” appears as “Labor Day (Jump in the Line)” in the Calypso in New York booklet. The documented New York recording dates to approximately April 1948.
- My Experience on the Reperbahn — Lord Invader: the second version
The booklet calls this “My Experience on the Reperbahn (2nd version).” It is the Lord Invader and his Calypso Group performance selected as track 20 of Calypso in New York.
- My Intention Is War — Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator: recording credits
“My Intention Is War” is credited to Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator in the Smithsonian tracklist. Its session notes place both singers in a New York recording from around 1958.
- New York Subway — Lord Invader: session musicians and earlier issues
“New York Subway” is documented as a Lord Invader performance with Felix and his Internationals, recorded in New York around January 1946. The session notes name both its clarinet and cuatro players.
- The Soldiers Came and Broke Up My Life — Lord Invader: version 2
The Calypso in New York booklet labels this performance “The Soldiers Came and Broke Up My Life (#2).” The current label tracklist shortens the title to “The Soldiers Came and Broke My Life.”
- Tied-Tongue Baby — Lord Invader: credits and title connections
Lord Invader’s “Tied-Tongue Baby” is track 12 of Calypso in New York. Its booklet places the Felix and his Internationals recording around January 1946 in New York.
- You’re Wasting Your Time — Lord Invader: the 1961 alternative take
The Smithsonian booklet identifies this selection as “You’re Wasting Your Time (#2) (alternative take).” It dates the New York recording to June 6, 1961.
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