Aldwyn Roberts HBM DA (18 April 1922 – 11 February 2000), better known by the stage name Lord Kitchener (or "Kitch"), was a Trinidadian

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

. He has been described as "the grand master of calypso" and "the greatest calypsonian of the post-war age".Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 149–154Talevski, Nick (2010) ''Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries'', Omnibus Press, , p. 343.

Early life

Roberts was born in

Arima, Trinidad and Tobago Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...

, the son of a blacksmith, Stephen, and housewife, Albertha. He was educated at the Arima Boys Government School until he was 14, when his father died, leaving him orphaned. His father had encouraged him to sing and taught him to play the guitar, and he became a full-time musician.

Music career

He moved to

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, the capital of Trinidad in 1943 where he joined the Roving Brigade. He was spotted singing "Mary I Am Tired and Disgusted" (aka "Green Fig") with the group by Johnny Khan, who invited him to perform in his Victory Tent, where he met fellow calypsonian Growling Tiger, who decided Roberts should from that point be known as Lord Kitchener. He became known as an innovator, introducing musical and lyrical changes, including frequent criticism of the British government's control of the island. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Kitchener became popular with US troops based on the island, leading to performances in New York. After the end of World War II, the

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural ev ...

took place in early March 1946, during which Kitchener won his very first official Road March title with a catchy calypso leggo called " Jump In The Line". He toured

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

for six months in 1947–48 with

Lord Beginner Egbert Moore (1904–1981), known as Lord Beginner, was a popular calypsonian. Biography Moore was born in Port-of-Spain in Trinidad. According to AllMusic: "After attracting attention with his soulful singing in Trinidad and Tobago, Lord Begin ...

(Egbert Moore) and Lord Woodbine (Harold Phillips) before they took passage on the ''

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'' was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV ''Monte Rosa''. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to Sou ...

'' to England in 1948. Upon his arrival at

Tilbury Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It serves as the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facili ...

, Kitchener performed the specially-written song " London Is the Place for Me", which he sang live on a report for

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

.Spencer, Neil (2011)
"Lord Kitchener steps off the Empire Windrush"
''The Guardian'', 16 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Within two years he was a regular performer on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio, and was much in demand for live performances. He found further success in the UK in the 1950s, building a large following in the expatriate communities of the West Indian islands, and having hits with "Kitch", "Food from the West Indies", "Tie Tongue Mopsy", and "Alec Bedser Calypso", while remaining popular in Trinidad and Tobago. His prominence continued throughout the 1950s, when calypso achieved international success. Kitchener became a very important figure to those first 5,000 West Indian migrants to the UK. His music spoke of home and a life that they all longed for but in many cases could not or would not return to. He immortalised the defining moment for many of the migrants in writing the " Victory Calypso" with its lyrics "Cricket, Lovely Cricket" to celebrate West Indies cricket team's first victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in England, in the Second

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in June 1950.Lord Kitchener, Calypso Ignite Test Cricket
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

'', 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016 This was one of the first widely known West Indian songs, and epitomised an event that historian and cricket enthusiast C. L. R. James defined as crucial to West Indian post-colonial societies. Kitchener opened a nightclub in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and also had a successful residency at The Sunset in London.Pareles, Jon (14 February 2000)
"Lord Kitchener, 77, Calypso Songwriter Who Mixed Party Tunes With Deeper Messages"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Further US performances followed in the mid-1950s. In the 1950s, he also composed "Bebop Calypso". In 1962, he returned to Trinidad, where he and the

Mighty Sparrow Slinger Francisco Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, ORTT Chaconia Medal, CM Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 9 July 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian Calypso music, calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitar ...

proceeded to dominate the calypso competitions of the 1960s and 1970s. Lord Kitchener won the road march competition 10 times between 1963 and 1976, more often than any other calypsonian. For 30 years, he ran his own calypso tent, Calypso Revue, within which he nurtured the talent of many calypsonians.

Calypso Rose Calypso Rose or Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis (born April 27, 1940, in Bethel Village, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobago calypsonian. She started writing songs at the age of 13; over the years, she has composed more than 1000 songs and record ...

David Rudder The Honourable David Michael Rudder OCC (born 6 May 1953) is a Trinidadian calypsonian, known to be one of the most successful calypsonians of all time. He performed as lead singer for the brass band Charlie's Roots. Nine years later, Rudder st ...

Black Stalin Leroy Calliste (24 September 1941 – 28 December 2022), better known as Black Stalin, was a leading calypsonian from Trinidad and Tobago known for his lyrics against European colonial oppression. He won the Calypso Monarch competition on five ...

and

Denyse Plummer Denyse Burnadette Kirline Plummer (8 November 1953 – 27 August 2023) was a Trinidadian calypsonian and gospel singer. The child of a white father and a black mother, she initially faced significant prejudice in a genre traditionally seen as ...

are among the many artists who got their start under Kitchener's tutelage.Harris, Craig,
Aldwyn Robert Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Later he moved towards

soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Government * Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), a former public body of the United Kingdom * Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA), a South African government unit established to combat gender-based violence ...

, a related style, and continued recording until his death. Kitchener's compositions were enormously popular as the chosen selections for steel bands to perform at the annual National Panorama competition during Trinidad Carnival. He won his only Calypso King title in 1975 with "Tribute to Spree Simon". He stopped competing in 1976.Lord Kitchener
, ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Kitchener saw the potential of the new

phenomenon of the late 1970s and adopted the genre on a string of albums over the years that followed. In 1977 he recorded his most commercially successful song, and one of the earliest major soca hits, "Sugar Bum Bum", which became a big hit for the 1978 Trinidad Carnival season. In 1993 a campaign was launched for Kitchener to receive the island's highest civilian honour, the

Trinity Cross The Trinity Cross (abbreviated T.C. or TC) was the highest of the National Awards of Trinidad and Tobago, between the years 1969 and 2008. It was awarded for: "distinguished and outstanding service to Trinidad and Tobago. It was awarded for gall ...

. The government declined but offered him a lesser honour, which he turned down. Having been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, Kitchener retired in 1999 after delivering a final album, ''Vintage Kitch''. He died on 11 February 2000 of a blood infection and kidney failure at the Mount Hope Hospital in

. He is buried in the Santa Rosa Cemetery in Arima. It was always important to Kitchener throughout his career to gain new experiences that could be woven into his material. This led him to performances in

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

and Jamaica in the early days, and finally to London, when he was already flying high in Trinidad. Kitchener once said: "I have reached the height of my popularity in Trinidad. What am I doing here? I should make a move." Kitchener is honoured with a statue in

. A bust is also on display on Hollis Avenue, Arima, not far from the Arima Stadium.

Family

In 1952, he met his wife Elsie Lines. They married in 1953, and lived for a period in Manchester where Kitchener ran a nightclub. Together, they adopted a baby, to be named Tyrone Roberts, and the three of them moved back to Trinidad. They divorced in 1968. He later married and had four children (Christian, Kernel, Quweina and Kirnister Roberts) with Valerie Green, and also had a relationship with Betsy Pollard.Philip Carter
"Roberts, Aldwyn (1922–2000)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, September 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013. Kitchener's son

Kernal Roberts Kernal "Kitch" Roberts (born Kernal Lincoln Roberts, 20 September 1980) is a soca producer, singer and songwriter from Trinidad and Tobago. He is best known for writing and producing Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Road March The Carnival Road Mar ...

is also a performer, playing drums for a soca band Traffik in the 90's and then in the early 2000s,

Xtatik Xtatik is a Trinidad and Tobago Soca band led by Machel Montano. History The band evolved from Pranasonic Express, which was formed in 1984 in Port of Spain.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 300-301 The ori ...

. He was also their musical director and is a composer of multiple Soca Monarch and Road March titles.

Merits

Discography

* ''Birth of Ghana Birth''(1957) *''Calypso Kitch'' (1960), RCA Victor *''Lord Kitchener'' (1964), RCA Victor *''Mr. Kitch'' (1965), RCA Victor *''King of Calypso'' (1965), Melodisc *''Kitch 67'' (1966) RCA Victor *''King of the Road'' (1969), Tropico *''Sock It to Me Kitch'' (1970), Tropico *''Curfew Time'' (1971), Trinidad *''Hot Pants'' (1972), Trinidad/Straker's *''We Walk 100 Miles with 'Kitch'' (1973), Trinidad *''Tourist in Trinidad with Kitch'' (1974), Trinidad *''Carnival Fever'' (1975), Trinidad *''Sings Calypsos (With And Without Social Significance)'' (1975), Sounds of the Caribbean *''Home for Carnival'' (1976), Kalinda *''Hot and Sweet'' (1976), Charlie's *''Melody Of The 21st Century'' (1977), Charlie's *''Spirit of Carnival'' (1978), Trinidad *''Shooting with Kitch'' (1980), Charlie's *''Kitch Goes Soca - Soca Jean'' (1980), Charlie's *''Authenticity'' (1981), Charlie's *''200 Years Of Mass'' (1982), Charlie's *''Simply Wonderful'' (1983), Trinidad *''The Master At Work'' (1984), Kalico *''The Grand Master'' (1986), B's *''Kitch On The Equator'' (1986), Benmac *'' TrinGhana "Haunting Melodies"'' (1987), Trinighana - with Little Joe Ayesu *''100% Kitch'' (1987), B's *''A Musical Excursion'' (1989), JW Productions *''The Honey In Kitch'' (1991), MC Productions *''Roadmarch & Panorama King Still #1'' (1991), JW Productions *''Longevity'' (1993), JW Productions *''Still Escalating'' (1994), JW Productions *'' Ah Have It Cork'' (1995), JW Productions *''Incredible Kitch'' (1996), JW Productions *''Symphony On The Street'' (1997), JW Productions *''Classic Kitch'' (1999), JW Productions

Bibliography

The first biographical work on Lord Kitchener, ''Kitch: A Fictional Biography of A Calypso Icon'', by UK-based Trinidadian author

Anthony Joseph Anthony Joseph FRSL (born 12 November 1966) is a British/Trinidadian poet, novelist, musician and academic. In 2023, he was awarded the T. S. Eliot Prize for his book ''Sonnets for Albert''. Biography Joseph was born in Port of Spain, Trin ...

, was published in June 2018. The book was shortlisted for The 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize, the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

's Encore Award and the

Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, inaugurated in 2011 by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, is an annual literary award for books by Caribbean writers published in the previous year.BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, which is available via the BBC Radio 4 website.

References

External links

"Calypso Showcase Lord Kitchener 120391"
5-minute video interview of Lord Kitchener by Alvin Daniell in 1991. *
''Kitch''
BBC Radio 4 half-hour programme about Lord Kitchener, first broadcast 13 January 2015.

( ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Kitchener 1922 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers Deaths from multiple myeloma Trinidad and Tobago calypsonians Trinidad and Tobago soca musicians People from Arima Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in the United Kingdom