Neville Marcano

Known as the "Growling Tiger of Calypso," Marcano was noted for his skill at both political/current events-inspired songs and tunes with more conventional folk/romantic themes. A teenage flyweight champion boxer, he became a calypso singer by profession after placing high in local calypso competitions in the mid-1930s. Marcano recorded nearly 50 tracks for Decca, favoring minor-keyed melodies and a delivery influenced by the French patois he had spoken as a child; his first calypso composition was about a labor dispute, though he would write about all kinds of subjects through...