Miss Calypso
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''Miss Calypso'' is the debut and only studio album by American writer and poet
Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...
, released in 1957. The album was released during a craze for
calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...
catalyzed by
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
the previous year. Angelou sings every song on the album, and she composed five of them. Behind Angelou's voice, studio guitarist
Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...
and percussionist Al Bello created an exotic mood. Angelou toured in support of the album, performing calypso songs in nightclubs. The album was a modest success but Angelou did not make any further records as a singer. Angelou later gained fame as an author and a poet, most notably her first autobiography, ''
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of charact ...
''. In her fourth autobiography, ''
The Heart of a Woman ''The Heart of a Woman'' (1981) is an autobiography by American writer Maya Angelou. The book is the fourth installment in Angelou's series of seven autobiographies. ''The Heart of a Woman'' recounts events in Angelou's life between 1957 and ...
'', she downplays her singing career and assigns little importance to ''Miss Calypso''. In 1995, the album was re-released as a CD during a period of customer interest in 1950s
exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records ...
. Its artistry was re-examined in light of Angelou's later fame; it was said to exemplify the calypso music of the period, spiced with a feeling for the tradition's roots.


Background

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...
had modest success as a singer, dancer, and performer beginning in 1954, when her marriage to her first husband, Tosh Angelos, ended. She performed in clubs around
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, including
the Purple Onion The Purple Onion was a celebrated cellar club in the North Beach area of San Francisco, California, located at 140 Columbus Avenue (between Jackson and Pacific). With an intimate, 80-person setting, the club was a popular influence in local musi ...
, where she sang and danced
calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...
. Up to that point she went by her birth name Marguerite Johnson, or by the name Rita, but at the strong suggestion of her managers and supporters, she changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou", a "distinctive name" that set her apart and captured the feel of her calypso dance performances. During 1954 and 1955 Angelou toured 22 countries, mostly in Europe, with a production of the opera ''
Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'', which she describes in her third autobiography, '' Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas'' (1976). By February 1956 she was touring with her own new show, an exotic calypso act which played at the Keyboard in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, where she was "wooed by disk executives", according to ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''. She headlined at the
Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
in March, gigged for four weeks at the Clouds in Honolulu in July–August, and joined the
Lester Horton Lester Iradell Horton (23 January 1906 – 2 November 1953) was an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Early years and education Lester Iradell Horton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on 23 January 1906. His parents were Iradell and Poll ...
dancers for a Halloween show at the
Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...
. Angelou signed with
Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...
in September. By November 1956, ''Variety'' was describing the process of recording her first album, ''Miss Calypso'', and even speculating that her second album might be a collection of
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
songs, based on her playful ad-libbing of a Coward tune between takes at the recording studio. In 1957 Angelou appeared in an off-Broadway revue that inspired her first film, ''
Calypso Heat Wave ''Calypso Heat Wave'' is a 1957 American drama musical film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Johnny Desmond, Merry Anders and Meg Myles. It was an attempt by producer Sam Katzman to repeat the success of '' Rock Around the Clock'' with ...
'', in which Angelou sang and performed her own compositions. Also in 1957, the album ''Miss Calypso'' was completed and released; it was reissued as a CD in 1995. According to reviewer
Hilton Als Hilton Als (born 1960) is an American writer and theater critic. He is a teaching professor at the University of California, Berkeley, an associate professor of writing at Columbia University and a staff writer and theater critic for ''The New Yor ...
, Angelou sang and performed calypso because she "had followed the fashion of the time", and not to develop as an artist. Als states about ''Miss Calypso'': "But it was clear that the album itself was not the point. Developing her artistry was not the point. Fame, not art, was her spur..." In 1958, Angelou met jazz singer
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
, who after walking out during one of Angelou's calypso performances, told her, "You're going to be famous. But it won't be for singing". As she described in her fourth autobiography ''
The Heart of a Woman ''The Heart of a Woman'' (1981) is an autobiography by American writer Maya Angelou. The book is the fourth installment in Angelou's series of seven autobiographies. ''The Heart of a Woman'' recounts events in Angelou's life between 1957 and ...
'', Angelou eventually gave up performing for a writing career, and became a poet and writer. According to Chuck Foster, who wrote the liner notes in the album's 1995 reissue, her calypso music career is "given short shrift" and dismissed in the book. Her first autobiography, ''
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of charact ...
'' (1969), brought her international recognition and acclaim.


Artwork

Richie Unterberger of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
described the album's cover as featuring Angelou "draped in a slip of a red dress, gyrating next to a fire in the middle of a (almost definitely fake) jungle". After finding it in a used record bin in 1994, Chuck Foster featured the cover in his column in ''Beat Magazine''. Foster considered the cover as one of the best examples of the calypso era. He described the cover art in this way: "A barely draped young Maya gyrates around a bonfire from which the flaming title emerges".


Reviews

''Miss Calypso'' was a modest success. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' review of the album said, " lthoughcalypso addicts will question the authenticity of this package, Miss Angelou has enough sell in her voice to offer dealers a promising set. Selections include such oldies as "Run Joe", "Stone Cold Dead in the Market", and "Calypso Blues", all of which are handled with finesse. Singer's name value is a rising commodity via her nitery dates, and should increase some as a result of this wax". Unterberger wrote that the 1995 reissue of the album was "probably motivated by the
exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records ...
-
space age pop Space age pop is a subgenre of pop and easy listening music associated with Mexican and American composers and songwriters in the Space Age of the 1950s and 1960s. Also known as bachelor pad music or lounge music,''Pulse'' (Monthly music digest ...
revival". He called the album's music "more or less straight-ahead pop-calypso" that was "not that strange or cheesy". He complimented Angelou's performance, saying that she "sung with respectable gutsiness", and compared the album to Harry Belafonte's calypso recordings of the same era. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reviewed one of Angelou's live calypso performances, a gig in Chicago at Mr. Kelly's nightclub during much of December 1956.Stef (December 12, 1956). ''Variety'' Hal Spector quoted the review in the album's 1957 liner notes. Stef, the ''Variety'' reviewer, called Angelou's act "sizzling" and a "unique creation in the jazz world when everything progressive is expected to be on the cool side". He called the song "Polymon Bongo" "recitative" and complimented its conversational nature with the drums. He commented on the intimacy and sharpness in Angelou's performance of "The Heat is On", a song she wrote but one that does not appear on the album. He called "Calypso Blues", written by
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
and
Don George Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of popular music. His songs include " The Yellow Rose of Texas" " I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (1944) and " Everything but You" (1945 ...
, "an artfully simple welding of idioms" and another song she composed, "Scandal in the Family", "standard
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
calypso stuff" and reported that her performance of it "rocked the house". Spector, also in the album's 1957 liner notes, reported on another of Angelou's concerts in the Beverly Hills nightclub The Keyboard, when she performed many of the songs on ''Miss Calypso''.Specter erroneously reported on some of Angelou's biography, stating that she was born in Cuba, that her father was a tall native African, that her mother was short, and that she had been the lead in ''Porgy and Bess''. He called her a polite, soft-spoken, calm, and poised young woman "that completely mystified the audience". He found that Angelou's performance made an indelible impression and that she had an unusual voice and striking appearance. Spector stated, "She had captured the audience swiftly and effectively with her calm and affectionate manner", and promised that she would do the same for listeners of the album. He also predicted that she was "destined to become a very big name in show business". Spector characterized Angelou's music as "calypso style with a liberal sprinkling of
Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural ele ...
, and a dash of blues mixed together with delicate jazz". Foster, in the album's liner notes its 1995 reissue, called the music "fresh as the day it was recorded and entirely captivating", but that it followed the tradition of the calypso of its era. He described the album's genre as having "Jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms,
Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...
-style folk", with "gospel and blues voicings and Belafonte-influenced Caribbean flavors". Foster considered Tommy Tedesco's guitar and Al Bello's percussion as having a "Beat-era spiritual sound". He thought that Angelou brought out the best in the calypso standards "Peas and Rice" and "Run Joe", but that she reached her peak with "Scandal in the Family", all of which he found as authentic as the songs she wrote. He stated that two of the songs Angelou wrote, "Mambo in Africa" and "Neighbor, Neighbor", effectively combined her skills as a poet and composer. He compared her music with other calypso artists of the same era, but considered hers more "uptown" and more like the music of modern artists such as
Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
. Foster also compared Angelou's music in ''Miss Calypso'' with her later writing, and called both "hot and spicy, peppered with a roots flavoring". Jessica Letkemann of ''Billboard'' stated that Angelou's tuneful and distinctive voice would "serve her so well in later years as a spoken word artist".


Track listing


Personnel

*Maya Angelou – composer, vocals *Al Bello –
bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
,
congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...
,
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*
Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...
 –
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*Pete Ciccone – art direction *Alan Douches – digital remastering *Chuck Foster – annotation, liner notes *
Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...
 – producer *John Kraus – engineer *Ashley Warren – reissue coordinator


Notes


Works cited

* Angelou, Maya. (1981). ''The Heart of a Woman''. New York: Random House. * Gillespie, Marcia Ann, Rosa Johnson Butler, and Richard A. Long. (2008). ''Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration''. New York: Random House. {{Authority control 1957 debut albums Maya Angelou albums Albums produced by Walter Kerr