Mighty Sparrow, king of calypso, dies at 91

Mighty Sparrow, the Trinidad and Tobago singer and songwriter widely regarded as the king of calypso, has died at 91. His daughter, Karen Francisco, announced the news and said he died after a “brief illness,” according to Rolling Stone.

Born Slinger Francisco on July 9, 1935, in Grenada, he moved to Trinidad as a small child. He won the Carnival Road March and Calypso Monarch competitions many times. Early hits included “Big Bamboo,” “Congo Man” and “Ten to One Is Murder.”

Rolling Stone points to the 1968 album “Calypso Carnival,” the 1969 collaboration with Byron Lee and The Dragonaires, “Sparrow Meets the Dragon,” and 1974’s “Hot and Sweet,” made for Warner Bros. with producer Van Dyke Parks. He later embraced soca and eventually settled in New York, where he stayed active in music.