01CalypsoShadow
Trinidad and Tobago
Singing Sandra
Sandra Des Vignes’s repertoire includes individual calypso performances and the United Sisters quartet.
Behind the music
The story so far.
Singing Sandra was the stage name of the calypsonian Sandra Des Vignes, whose death at 64 was reported by the Jamaica Gleaner on January 28, 2021. A 2007 career account incorporating a phone interview traces both her solo work and her role in United Sisters with Marvellous Marva, Tigress and Lady B. The quartet formed in 1991, and the account identifies Lady B as the writer of Ambataila Woman. Sandra’s own competition repertoire included Song For Healing and Voices from the Ghetto in 1999, followed by For Whom the Bells Tolls and Ancient Rhythms in 2003. Another song, Sexy Employees, more popularly known as Die With My Dignity, addressed male chauvinism in the workplace. Those titles connect her solo catalog with the wider history of women performing and writing calypso together.
Sources & further reading
- South Florida Caribbean News — Singing Sandra interview and career (opens in a new tab)
- Jamaica Gleaner — Singing Sandra dies at 64 (opens in a new tab)
- Caribbean Life — Singing Sandra dies at 64 (opens in a new tab)
- Apple Music — selected Singing Sandra edition and credits (opens in a new tab)
- Apple Music — selected Singing Sandra edition and credits (opens in a new tab)
- Apple Music — selected Singing Sandra edition and credits (opens in a new tab)
- In the collection
- Calypso
- Keep exploring
- Artist links ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Beyond the listening picks
EXPLORE THE CATALOG.
Browse the release editions collected so far, with complete tracklists, dates and direct listening links. The catalog explains its source coverage and remaining gaps.
Browse the release catalogA place to startGET INTO
GET INTO
THE SOUND.
Two tracks to begin with. Listen on the original platform, then explore the rest of the catalog.
