Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks (November 25, 1895 – August 6, 1973), best known as Wilmoth Houdini, was a prominent

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 ...

Life

In 1916, he started his career in earnest when he began working with the African Millionaires, a large carnival group consisting of about 25 members. He arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

sometime around 1927, after working on cargo ships and travelling extensively. Not long after his arrival there, he began cutting records with local bands for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, notably Gerald Clark's Night Owls. He released well over a hundred different 78s between 1928 and 1940, also under the names of Fredrick Wilmoth Hendricks (his given name), Edgar Leon Sinclair (the name on his US passport), and King Houdini. His 1939 composition "He Had It Coming" was a hit for

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

under the new title " Stone Cold Dead in the Market". The song stayed on the top of the R&B charts for five weeks, and reached no. 7 on the pop charts. Gaining a good deal of recognition, Houdini wasted no time in organizing high-profile calypso festivals and concerts around New York, quickly becoming a respected member of the Caribbean communities there. After moving to New York (as one of the earliest Trinidadian émigrés), he was often the object of derision by the calypsonians still in Trinidad, who claimed that he was stealing their ideas and capitalizing on them in the USA. This can be seen in numerous calypsos of the early to mid-1930s, from

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 ...

and

Attila 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 ...

in particular, who also recorded in New York at the time. This led to Houdini's 1934 rebuttal, "War Declaration". Towards the beginning of the 1950s he played regularly at the Caribbean Club on Seventh Avenue, New York, with his only real rival, The Duke of Iron, also a native of Trinidad. Houdini died on August 6, 1973, in New York City, where he had lived for most his life. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City.

Influence

His song "Uncle Joe", although melodically not original, had a huge influence upon the American psyche, influencing

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, Ella Fitzgerald, Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz,

Hazmat Modine Hazmat Modine is a musical group based in New York City and led by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Wade Schuman. Their music is rooted in blues and also touches on Folk music, folk, jazz and World music. The most recent lineup of the ...

Bob Brozman Bob Brozman (March 8, 1954 – April 23, 2013) was an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist. Biography Brozman was born to a Jewish family in Long Island, New York, and began playing the guitar when he was six. He was an adjunct professor ...

, and C. W. Stoneking, to name but a few. He has inspired a newer generation of artists around the world, for example with his recording "Black But Sweet" covered by Mighty Dub Katz ("Son of Wilmot"), Sabres of Paradise ("Wilmot"), Shantel ("Bucovina") and Eleftheria Arvanitaki ("Δεν μιλώ για μια νύχτα, εγώ"). The Avalanches sampled Houdini's " Bobby Sox Idol" heavily in the 2016 single " Frankie Sinatra".

Sources

Cowley, John (1984). "Wilmoth Houdini: Poor but Ambitious", in ''Calypso Classics from Trinidad'' CD liner notes, pp. 2–5. El Cerrito, California: Arhoolie Productions.

Life

Influence

Sources

External links

See also