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,Definition of CALYPSO
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 t ...

, 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, his first job playing guitar for Water Scheme labourers while they laid pipes in the San Fernando Valley.Pareles, Jon (14 February2000)
"Lord Kitchener, 77, Calypso Songwriter Who Mixed Party Tunes With Deeper Messages"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved 2 May 2016. He became locally popular in Arima with songs such as "Shops Close Too Early", and joined the Sheriff Band as lead singer. He won the Arima borough council's calypso competition five times between 1938 and 1942.

Music career

He moved to

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 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 situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

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 Beginne ...

(

Egbert Moore 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 Beginne ...

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

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'', originally MV ''Monte Rosa'', was a passenger liner and cruise ship launched in Germany in 1930. She was owned and operated by the German shipping line in the 1930s under the name ''Monte Rosa''. During World War II she ...

'' to England in 1948. Upon his arrival at

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

, Kitchener performed the specially-written song "

London Is the Place for Me "London Is the Place for Me" is a 1948 calypso song by Aldwyn Roberts. Roberts, under his calypso stage name Lord Kitchener, sang the first two stanzas of "London Is the Place for Me" on camera for reporters upon arrival at Tilbury Docks on the , ...

", 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. Its co ...

.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 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 The game of cricket has inspired much poetry, most of which romanticises the sport and its culture. Poems Cricket: An Heroic Poem :Hail, cricket, Glorious, manly, British Game! ::First of all Sports! be first alike in Fame. The poem by James L ...

" with its lyrics "Cricket, Lovely Cricket" to celebrate

West Indies cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The players on t ...

's first victory over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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), ...

at Lord's 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. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to '' ...

'', 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 Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are ...

defined as crucial to West Indian post-colonial societies. Kitchener opened a nightclub in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and also had a successful residency at The Sunset in London. 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 ORTT CM OBE (born July 9, 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful calyps ...

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,

David Rudder 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 stepped outside t ...

, Black Stalin and Denyse Plummer 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 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 dat ...

. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Later he moved towards soca, 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 ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...

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

. 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 ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...

, Aruba 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. 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 producing Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Road March The Carnival Road March is the mus ...

is also a performer, playing drums for a soca band in the early 2000s, Xtatik. He was also their musical director and is a composer of multiple Soca Monarch and Road March titles.

Merits

{, class="wikitable" , + Winner of Carnival Road March , - class="hintergrundfarbe5" ! Year !! Song , - , 1946 , , "Jump in Line" , - , 1963 , , "The Road" , - , 1964 , , "Mama dis is Mas" , - , 1965 , , "My Pussin'" , - , 1967 , , "Sixty Seven" , - , 1968 , , "Miss Tourist" , - , 1970 , , "Margie" , - , 1971 , , "Mas in Madison Square Garden" , - , 1973 , , "Rainorama" , - , 1975 , , "Tribute to Spree Simon" , - , 1976 , , "Flag Woman" , {, class="wikitable" , + Winner of Calypso Monarch , - class="hintergrundfarbe5" ! Year !! Song 1 !! Song 2 , - , 1975 , , "Tribute to Spree Simon" , , "Fever" , 1981 , , "Carnival Baby" {later redone by

Alison Hinds Alison Amanda Hinds (born 1 June 1970) is a British-born Bajan soca artist based in Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world. Biography Alison Hinds was born in London on 1 June 1970 and grew up in Plaistow.Batey, A ...

}

Discography

*''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, 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 600 Fellows, ele ...

'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 that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

, 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 Deaths from multiple myeloma Calypsonians Soca musicians People from Arima 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in the United Kingdom