Rufus Callender (1910–1976), better known as Lord Caresser, was a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

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 ...

( calypso singer/composer). He is best known for his 1937 recording of "Edward the VIII" (a.k.a. "Love, Love Alone"), a calypso about the 1936

Abdication of Edward VIII In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was in the process of divorcing her second. ...

of England. This was one of the best-selling records in the golden age of calypso of the 1930s and early 1940s, and generated further hits for Jamaican singer Lord Flea and American singer

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

when they covered it in the 1950s.

Early life

Caresser was born Rufus Callender in San Fernando,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

in 1910. His father was Venezuelan, and his mother was Trinidadian. His mother died when he was four and Caresser was brought up by his grandmother and aunt; his unrecorded 1945 calypso "I ain’t got no papa" suggests that he had no knowledge of his father. Caresser moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

in the late 1920s or early 1930s, where, according to a story he later told, a witch doctor gave him a ring decorated with the image of a snake. The ring was supposed to have the power to attract crowds, but Caresser threw it away when he noticed the snake moving as he passed by a church."Vainglorious Appellations" by Donald R. Hill and John H. Cowley, essay printed in accompanying book to ''West Indian Rhythm - Calypso 1938-1940'', Bear Family Records, 2006.

Golden era

By 1936, Caresser was back in Trinidad and singing calypso at the Crystal Palace tent in the

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 ...

carnival. He took first prize in the Besson Street singing competition, with another important newcomer, the Growler, taking second place. In 1937, Caresser sailed to New York with

Roaring Lion Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", wh ...

Atilla the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

and Lord Executor to record for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. The first recording Caresser made turned out to be the biggest hit of his career, ‘Edward the VIII’. It was one of 14 sides (78-rpm) which he recorded for Decca on this trip; others include his classic duet 'Old Ginger' with the veteran calypsonian

Executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...

, and also "War", in which the four visitors from Trinidad issue challenges to

Wilmoth Houdini Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks (November 25, 1895 – August 6, 1973), best known as Wilmoth Houdini, was a prominent calypsonian. Life In 1916, he started his career in earnest when he began working with the African Millionaires, a large carnival g ...

, the Trinidadian calypsonian who made his home in New York and became the most prolific calypso recording artist of the era.''Calypso Calaloo: Early Carnival Music in Trinidad'', by Donald R. Hill, University of Florida Press 1993, p. 268. In 1938, Caresser recorded another 12 sides for Decca, but this time the recordings were made in Trinidad. After appearing at the 1938 carnival, Caresser went on tour to

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

with popular Guyanese singer Bill Rogers; Caresser later recorded the calypso "So Many Women" to boast of the welcome he received on this tour. Performing in the capital, Georgetown, as part of a vaudeville show that included dancers, comedians, and impersonators, Caresser sang his recently recorded calypsos "Madam Khan" and "The More They Try to Do Me Bad (The Better I Live in Trinidad)". When the troupe left Georgetown to continue their tour, however, Caresser stayed behind, possibly because of a falling out with Rogers; in his calypso "No Surrender", Caresser calls the "bhaaji composer" (a reference to Rogers’s most famous song, "B.G. Bargee") an "old-time flouncer" and "sweetie vendor" (Rogers also worked as a confectioner). During his stay in Georgetown, Caresser began a romantic relationship with the famous dancer Peggy Daniels, later known as "The Rhumba Queen". Daniels had performed in Trinidad in 1936 and so impressed the

that he recorded a calypso in her honour, "Peggy Daniels" ("That woman was so tantalizing; The kind of dance she did was surprising"). Caresser's own calypso for her, "Peggy Dearie", ends with "the Lord and his fiancée joining hands in matrimony" and tells of a romantic boat trip they seem to have taken together ("Oh, Peggie dearie, I want to spend me honeymoon in the Mazaruni"); but whether or not Caresser and Daniels did actually marry is not known. In any case, they were performing together in Trinidad in early 1939 and continued to do so until at least 1944. In 1945, with calypso more popular than ever in the USA due to the success of

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 consi ...

's "

Rum and Coca-Cola "Rum and Coca-Cola" is a popular calypso song composed by Lionel Belasco with lyrics by Lord Invader. The song was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and was a hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters. History The s ...

", Caresser planned a North American tour with 22-year old newcomer, Lord Kitchener. The tour never happened, but Caresser did make some successful appearances in Jamaica later that year.

Canadian years

In 1947, Caresser moved to Canada after securing a 5-year contract with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC) to record a regular radio show. "The Lord Caresser Show" ran weekly from May 1946 to June 1948, using "The More They Try to Do Me Bad" as its theme song. The show was broadcast in Canada on the Trans-Canada network, in the West Indies on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

International, and by relay on the

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 ...

(UK),

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

(Australia), New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, and

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

(South Africa). Caresser continued to make occasional appearances on CBC until 1952. In 1948, he moved to the UK, where Lord Kitchener and Lord Beginner had already achieved success, and wrote an article entitled "Calypso and Jazz" which was published in ''

Jazz Journal ''Jazz Journal'' is a British jazz magazine established in 1946 by Sinclair Traill (1904–1981). It was first published in London under the title ''Pick Up'', which Traill founded as a locus for serious jazz criticism in Britain.Roberta Freund S ...

'' in 1949. Caresser returned to Canada in 1950, where he performed at various venues in and around

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1951,

Lord Melody Lord Melody (1926 – 26 September 1988)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', backbeat Books, , p.154-155 was a popular Trinidadian calypsonian, best known for singles such as " Boo Boo Man", "Creature From The Black Lagoon", ...

recorded the calypso "Tribute to Kitchener", a criticism of expatriate calypsonians, which includes a verse about Caresser: Melody exhorts him to return to Trinidad to write new calypsos, because Melody is sick of hearing Caresser's 1930s hits on the radio. Caresser began a relationship with Monique Côté from Abitibi in

Northern Quebec Northern Quebec () is a geographic term denoting the northerly, more remote and less populated parts of the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec.Alexandre Robaey"Charity group works with Indigenous communities to feed Northern Quebec's 'wandering dog ...

, and their first son, Camille, was born in

in 1953. When Caresser went on a tour of Europe in 1955, Monique accompanied him and they were married at the British Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Caresser and Monique went on to have six boys together, and the family lived in the La Belle Ville area of Montreal city. Caresser now began to work outside the entertainment industry: in the maintenance department of Sainte Justine Hospital in Montreal, and from 1960 to 1965, he is listed as an employee of the Industrial Acceptance Corporation, a finance company. At some point after 1965, it seems that he left his family to move to

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in the Western provinces of Canada, where he died in 1976.

Early life

Golden era

Canadian years

References

See also