Mighty Sparrow, the Trinidad and Tobago singer known as the ‘calypso king of the world’, dies aged 91

Slinger Francisco, known on stage as the Mighty Sparrow and dubbed the “calypso king of the world”, has died aged 91.

Francisco, who got his breakthrough in calypso music with his 1956 hit song Jean and Dinah, died peacefully surrounded by his family in New York on Sunday, his family said in a statement.

His death came after a “brief illness,” the statement said without disclosing any other details.

“He was an institution in the entertainment industry, well admired for his skill and finesse as a singer, songwriter and mentor; beloved by many,” Francisco’s family said.

The Mighty Sparrow will be remembered as “a defining voice of our culture, a master storyteller and a towering figure whose music helped carry calypso from Trinidad and Tobago to the world,” the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation said in a statement.

Born in the coastal town of Grand Roy, Grenada, in July 1935, Francisco was just a toddler when he migrated with his parents to Trinidad and Tobago in 1937.

Trinidad and Tobago is the birthplace of calypso music, and was where the name and persona of the Mighty Sparrow emerged to produce a list of hit songs in the genre: Both of Them, Congo Man, Mr. Walker, The Lizard and many more.

Birdie, as Francisco was also affectionately known, recorded hundreds of songs in a career that spanned six decades. He performed in several countries around the world, including at famous venues such as New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Throughout his career, Francisco’s goal was to advance the calypso art form, according to Dr Rudolph Ottley, a Trinidadian cultural historian and author.

“The Mighty Sparrow was the supreme entertainer, a cultural revolutionary and one of the world’s greatest Calypsonians,” Ottley told the Associated Press.

Trinidad and Tobago has honored the composer and performer with national awards, and in 1987 the University of the West Indies conferred an honorary doctor of letters on Francisco.