Caribbean diaspora pays tribute to the Mighty Sparrow, who has died at 91
The Grenadian-born Calypso King of the World, Slinger Francisco, died peacefully in Queens after a brief illness, his family said.
NEW YORK, United States. The Caribbean diaspora in North America paid tribute on Sunday, September 27, to the Mighty Sparrow, the Calypso King of the World, who died that day at the age of 91, his family said.
Sparrow, whose real name was Slinger Francisco, was born in Grenada and became Trinidad and Tobago's calypso ambassador. His family said he died peacefully in Queens, surrounded by loved ones, after a brief illness. Plans for a public celebration of his life are being arranged.
"Part of the soundtrack of our lives"
Jean P. Alexander, Trinidadian-born president of the Caribbean American Center of New York, said: "Sparrow's story began in Grenada, took root in Trinidad, and traveled wherever Caribbean people made a home."
"From singing in the church choir to his breakthrough with 'Jean and Dinah', he brought wit, joy, and fearless storytelling to calypso. His voice became part of the soundtrack of our lives," she said.
The West Indian American Day Carnival Association said: "Our legend has transitioned. Dr Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow, may your light shine for eternity."
Brooklyn pastor Louis Straker Jr. said Sparrow, born in Grand Roy, Grenada, and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, "became a voice of the Caribbean and a true cultural ambassador whose songs captured the joys, struggles, politics, humor and spirit of our people".
Grenada's consul general
Gerry Hopkin, Grenada's Consul General to Canada, called Sparrow "certainly one of the Caribbean's finest cultural ambassadors" and "God's gift to the world by way of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago".
Hopkin recalled that in 2007 Sparrow composed "Barack the Magnificent", which he described as the first musical endorsement of Barack Obama by any celebrity of note, and performed it on August 22, 2007 at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott.
Former Grenada Calypso Monarch King Ajamu, real name Edson Mitchell, said: "Now, you sing to the angels."
Montano: "the end of an era"
Machel Montano, who sang with Sparrow at the 2024 Caribbean Music Awards in Brooklyn after Sparrow received a lifetime achievement award, said: "And just like that, we have come to the end of an era."
"Sparrow provided me with opportunities, gave me his platform, and literally took me under his wing and direction many times over," Montano said. "Thank you, Almighty King of Calypso. We love you. Fly high."
