Lord Burgess

For most of the 40 years of his professional career, Irving Burgie, aka Lord Burgess, has been a relatively well-kept secret in the world of calypso music, at least as a performer. A prolific and vastly successful songwriter, responsible for such classics as "Day-O," "Island in the Sun," and "Jamaica Farewell," he composed eight of the 11 songs on Harry Belafonte's groundbreaking 1956 RCA album Calypso, as well as hits by the Kingston Trio and other groups. Yet as a performer, Burgie has achieved only sporadic fame, and didn't record his first complete album until 1996. Irvi...