Lord Invader
Lord Invader (Rupert Westmore Grant; 13 December 1914 – 15 October 1961) was a prominent calypsonian with a very distinctive, gravelly voice. He was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. He became active in calypso in the mid-1930s, and was considered a country bumpkin by his contemporaries, because of his humble beginning. It was Grant's tailor who gave him his moniker by commenting, "I tell you, Rupert, you should call yourself Lord Invader so when you go up to the city you be invadin' the capital." With a new name, in 1937 he went to the capital city of Port of Spain and began his career in earnest. He competed in many calypso competitions (including the very first Calypso King competition) and recorded for RCA Bluebird. Lured by Decca Records, he travelled to New York City in 1941 with other calypsonians such as Roaring Lion and Atilla the Hun to make records and promote calypso music. He wrote many calypsos; his most famous lyrics, "Rum and Coca-Cola", were plagiarised by Morey Amsterdam and became a hit for the Andrews Sisters. Invader travelled to New York and sued, eventually winning compensation, although the final settlement allowed Amsterdam to retain his copyright. In the early 1940s, radio stations in the USA refused to play his own version on the grounds of its using the trademarked name, Coca-Cola, and its references to prostitution and alcohol. He stayed in New York for a few years because of the lengthy court case. During his tenure in New York City, he became a fixture in the local calypso scene and recorded many tracks for Moses Asch. Eventually, he won his court case, but did not receive his settlement check for seven years, so he returned to Trinidad in the meantime. He opened a calypso club there and penned and recorded many original songs. He is often credited with writing "Zombie Jamboree", although the song was actually written by Lord Intruder (Winston O'Conner), who released it on the B-side of his 1953 single "Disaster with Police". It was covered by Conrad Eugene Mauge Jr, who recorded it in 1959 and was also often credited for writing it. The confusion probably stems from the introduction of the version by the Kingston Trio, which mentions "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators". At long last, Invader collected his money from his court case, and began to tour the U.S., later expanding to Britain and Europe. In the last half of 1958, he returned to New York City and continued recording for Moses Asch. He continued to return to his homeland for business and pleasure, although he had, with Wilmoth Houdini, made himself one of America's most successful calypsonians. On 15 October 1961, Lord Invader died at a Brooklyn, New York hospital. The following discs give a good idea of his work:
In 1961, Invader released an atypical LP, West Indian Folk Songs for Children (Caedmon Records). |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 13, 1914 (San Fernando), Died October 15, 1961 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1937 - 1945
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 30 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-04640 | 10-in. | 2/7/1937 | Joe Louis-Schmeling fight | Bert McLean's Jazz Hounds ; Lord Invader | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-04641 | 10-in. | 2/7/1937 | Jour ouvert bario | Bert McLean's Jazz Hounds ; Lord Invader | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-04643 | 10-in. | 2/7/1937 | Sally-Sally Water | Bert McLean's Jazz Hounds ; Lord Invader | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Victor | BS-04651 | 10-in. | 2/10/1937 | Bastardy | Bert McLean's Jazz Hounds ; Lord Invader | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-018899 | 10-in. | 3/3/1938 | Joe Louis | Lord Invader | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-021012 | 10-in. | before 2/23/1938 | Calypso war | Growler ; Lord Invader ; Mighty Destroyer ; Roy Rollock Orchestr | Male vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Victor | BS-021013 | 10-in. | before 2/23/1938 | Mamito at Mon Diablo Beach | Lord Invader ; Roy Rollock Orchestr | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-021019 | 10-in. | before 2/23/1938 | Bachelor's life | Lord Invader ; Roy Rollock Orchestr | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer, vocalist | |
Decca | 68900 | 10-in. | 4/2/1941 | Rate, rate Ray | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 68947 | 10-in. | 4/2/1941 | Play the tune on the pianola | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 68975 | 10-in. | 4/2/1941 | Hitler's moustache | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 69004 | 10-in. | 4/16/1941 | Saga's boy in town | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 69023 | 10-in. | 4/18/1941 | Man man tee way tee way | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72877 | 10-in. | 5/21/1945 | Small island | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72878 | 10-in. | 5/21/1945 | Dock site baby | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72879 | 10-in. | 5/21/1945 | The soldiers came and broke up | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72880 | 10-in. | 5/21/1945 | Carenage water | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72887 | 10-in. | 5/22/1945 | Gold teeth donkey | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72888 | 10-in. | 5/22/1945 | Bandy leg | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72889 | 10-in. | 5/22/1945 | Turn down Romey | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 72890 | 10-in. | 5/22/1945 | Old time cat-o-nine : Calypso | Lord Invader | vocalist, composer | ||
Decca | 91607 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | Demasbar | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 91608 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | Ten thousand to bar me one | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 91655 | 10-in. | 2/6/1939 | Don't stop the carnival | Rupert Grant | vocalist | ||
Decca | 91656 | 10-in. | 2/6/1939 | Sophie Bella | Rupert Grant | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Lord Invader," accessed August 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104971.
Lord Invader. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/104971.
"Lord Invader." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 August 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Lord Invader, 1914-1961 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85168584
Wikidata: Lord Invader - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q375888
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/51940960
MusicBrainz: Lord Invader - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a6565e48-8dca-4c45-8599-27315b833b5e
ISNI: 0000 0000 6658 2032 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000066582032
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