The Duke of Iron
click here for an MP3 of the Duke Of Iron classic, "I Left Her Behind For You" |
Born Cecil Anderson in Trinidad, the Duke of Iron learned music from his famous father and others. He came to the United States and made New York City his new home in 1923. In 1940 he began playing professionally at the Village Vanguard, and after ten months he headed west, touring until a triumphant return to New York in 1943. From then on he was King of Calypso and toured college campuses for some time until returning to Trinidad. There, he formed a new band and headed to Europe for a tour. He returned to New York at the height of the calypso craze (1956, the year Belafonte's debut eclipsed Elvis') to begin a long stint as headliner of the Jamaican Room.
On the LP Jungle Calypso, the Duke is accompanied by Modesto Calderon (bass player), Gregory Feliz, and Victor Pacheco. The latter two take turns at drums, violin, and clarinet. By the time of his Jamaican Room engagement, the Duke was playing quattro (four-stringed guitar) with a drummer, bassist, pianist, and two others doubling on sax and clarinet. The inclusion of steel pan would have marked Limbo, Limbo, Limbo as a low point in the Duke's career but for the strong original material and excellent recording by Rudy Van Gelder. The trademark, distorted clarinet was as vital a part of the Duke's charm as his unique voice and phrasing. In case anyone could not make out the ribald lyrics --always sung very innocently, of course-- the clarinet's "dirty" tone told the story without irony. The clarinet is especially strong in the classic, swinging rocker, "The Big Bamboo," possibly the world's greatest song. "Parakeets," sung by the Duke of Iron (as well as the Talbot Brothers of Bermuda), is another of the earthy tunes for which calypsonians are notorious. The Duke of Iron carried the true sound and many of the best calypso songs into the recording era, steadfastly refusing to modernize. The liner notes of the Calypso! LP quote the Duke as saying, "Calypso has a different rhythm all its own. It may resemble this and that at times, but it is in a class by itself where rhythm, style, and delivery is concerned. Some singers try to change Calypso but I try to keep it as it is." Thankfully, the Duke of Iron's calypso was recorded that way -- faithfully and extemporaneously. |
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Gefeeltah Fish
Invasion
Josephine
Medley Of Brown Skin Girl & Mary Anne
Meringue Jam
We Are Afraid Of Nobody
Zets Calypso
50 Cents
A Better Woman Than You
Bambouche
Bartender Harry
Bei Mir Bist du Schoen
Belle Marie
Bernhard Altmann Song
Big Bamboo
Bob White
Bonds Of Matrimony
Boo-Boo
Bootanga
Calypsonian Invasion
Calypso Samba
Clear De Road
Coldest Woman
Constance
Convoy
Courtneys Saga
Creole Girl
Dipsey Doodle
Dont Stop The Carnival
Dorothy One Morning
Druscilla
Duke Of The Calypso
Easy Fish (Man)
Everybody Merengue
Fire Down There
Freedom Waltz
Georgie Porgie
Hanging Tree, The
He's Cuckoo And Disorderly
I Left Her Behind For You
Its The Rhythm We Want
Jam Session
Katie
Kockeemoonga
Last Train
Lemme Go Melda
Limbo
Lost Watch, The (Tick, Tick, Tick)
Loving Women Is A Waste Of Time
Mambo Calypso
Mamma Gave Me Something
Man Centipede
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
Mandolin Jive (Music Lesson)
Marriage Recipe
Marian Coldova
Matilda
Merengue Jenny
Mickey Cipriani
Miss Constance
Monkey Calypso
Monkey See Monkey Do
Mr. Rake & Scrape
Music Lesson (Mandolin Jive)
N.Y. Mets, The
Naughty Little Fly
One Gone
Out The Fire
Pam - Palam
Parakeets
Pepper Sauce Milly
Postman
Potato
Pretty Woman
Prisoner Arise
Rice & Tanya
Rock Cum Babe
Rookoobay
Rye Saly Water
Sally Waters
Samson & Delilah
Small Island
Song Of Cecelia
Take Me
Take Six
Taxes
The Duke Of Calypso
Tick, Tick, Tick (The Lost Watch)
Tie Up Me Dress
Touch It
Trinidad Waltz
True Confession
U.S.A.
Undercover Man
Vitalogy
Walking Department Store
Walter Winchell
Wide Screen
Wild Indian
Woman Police
Yellow Bird
Year | Format | Title | Label | Cat# | Cat/Label+ | Songs | Misc |
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10" | Virgin Isle Supertone/R.C. Spenceley | VLP-401 | Parakeets, Man Centipede, Woman Police, Calypso Samba, Tick Tick Tick (The Lost Watch), Constance, Monkey Calypso & Undercover Man | ||||
10" | ??? | Monogram | MLP-812 | ||||
10" | Calypso Jamboree | Paragon | 603 | A various artists album, it features Duke Of Iron, Lord Invader, Lloyd Thomas, and Lord Kitchener. Tracks are "Woman Police", "Samson & Delilah", "Monkey Song", "Take Me Back To Trinidad", "Kitch", "Tongue Tied Mopsie", "Gotta Eat", and "Creole Chinee Party". | |||
10" | Calypso Magic | Monogram/Supertone | 802 | might have been reissued as 12" Monogram 820 with Marie Bryant | |||
10" | Calypso Volume 3 | Stinson | SLP-28 | Small Island & Matilda | also with Macbeth, Lord Beginner, Lord Invader & Felix And His Internationals | ||
1950 | 10" | Calypsos And Meringues | Folkways | FP-8 | FW-6808; SF-12192 | Druscilla | |
1953 | 10" | Duke Of Iron & His Calypso Troubadours: Calypso Carnival | Monogram | MLP-800 | Mandolin Jive (Music Lesson), Easy Fish (Man), Loving Woman Is Waste of Time, I Left Her Behind for You, Mambo Calypso, Clear de Road, Creole Girl & Last Train |
not the same as 12" 842 | |
1945 | 10" | Jungle Calypso | Stinson | SLP-10 | Pretty Woman, Mickey Cipriani, Duke Of The Calypso, Potato, Dont Stop The Carnival, Rookoobay, Jam Session & Wild Indian | was reissued as Folksay (FLP-10) & again by Stinson in 1963 on red vinyl with a different cover | |
10" | Jungle Calypso | Folksay | FLP-10 | Pretty Woman, Mickey Cipriani, Duke Of The Calypso, Potato, Dont Stop The Carnival, Rookoobay, Jam Session & Wild Indian | this is a reissue of Stinson (SLP-10) | ||
1950 | 10" | Trinidad Calypso Kings | Monogram | MLP-801 | Man Smart Woman Smarter & Coldest Woman | ||
1953 | 10" | Virgin Island Calypsos | Virgin Isle Supertone/R.C. Spenceley | VLP-400 | One Gone (aka Jonah & The Bake), Big Bambo, Creole Girl & I Left Her Behind For You | ||
12" | ??? | Paragon | 608 | ||||
1957 | 12" | Calypso Carnival | RCA Victor | LPM-1386 | A Better Woman Than You, Bambouce, Fifty Cents, Katie, Vitalogy, The Walking Department Store, Calypsonian Invasion, Mamma Gave Me Something, Bartender Harry, Its The Rhythm We Want, The Duke Of Calypso & Pepper Sauce Milly | ||
12" | Calypso Carnival With The Duke Of Iron | Monogram | 842 | Man Smart Woman Smarter, Music Teacher, Woman Police, Merengue Jenny, Big Bamboo, Last Train, Lost Watch, Creole Girl, Undercover Man, The Naughty Fly, Coldest Woman & Woman Love | only 2 cuts reissued from the 10" | ||
12" | Calypso Songs | Tropicana | 608 | Man Smart Woman Smarter & Lost Watch | |||
12" | Calypsos From The West Indies | Monogram | MLP-834 | ||||
1957 | 12" | Calypsos From The West Indies | Monogram | MLP-835 | |||
1957 | 12" | Calypsos Too Hot To Handle | Monogram | 837 | Big Bamboo, I Left Her Behind For You, Parakeets, Music Lesson & Postman |
These 12" LPs are almost entirely repackagings of earlier Monogram/Supertone/Spenceley stuff from the early 50s, which themselves were issued on 78s, 45s, and 10" LPs. |
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12" | Cool Calypsos From The West Indies | Monogram | MLP-838 | Man Smart Woman Smarter & Lost Watch | |||
1950 | 12" | Dont Touch Me Tomato: Sounds Of The Caribbean | Sounds Of The Caribbean | SLP-727 | The Big Bamboo, I Left Her Behind For You, Parakeets & Music Lesson | reissues Calypsos Too Hot to Handle except Lloyd Thomas' "Mary Had No Little Lamb" instead of Duke of Iron's "Postman" | |
12" | Duke Of Iron | Ritmo | EP-100 | unless reissues Monogram MEP-100 | |||
12" | Duke Of Iron Sings Calypsos | Sounds Of The Caribbean | SLP-730 | Man Smart, Woman Smarter, The Fly, Meringue Jenny, Creole Girl, Last Train, Man Centipede, The Lost Watch, Loving Women Is Waste Of Time, Man Is Easy Fish, Mambo Calypso, Clear The Road & We Are Afraid Of Nobody | reissue | ||
12" | Favorite Calypso Songs | Paragon | 609 | ||||
12" | Limbo! Limbo! Limbo! | Prestige/International | INT-13068 | The Hanging Tree, The New York Mets, Marriage Recipe, Limbo Limbo Limbo, Yellow Bird, Courtneys Saga, Calypso Merengue, Take Six, Taxes & Mr. Rake And Scrape | might have been reissued on Status | ||
12" | More Calypsos by The Duke Of Iron | Sounds Of The Caribbean | SLP-747 | Miss Constance, Monkey Calypso, Under Cover Man, One Gone, Rye Saly Water, Samson And Delilah, Wide Screen, Tie Up Me Dress, The Postman, Woman Police, Coldest Woman & Rock Cum Babe | reissue | ||
1957 | 12" | The Duke Of Iron & The Fabulous Steel Bands: Calypso! | Crowell-Collier Record Club | G-142 | Man Smart Woman Smarter, Music Lesson, Merengue Jenny, Creole Girl, Last Train, Lost Watch, Loving Woman Is Waste of Time, Man Is Easy Fish (aka Easy Fish (man)), Mambo Calypso & Clear De Road |
This gathers ten Monogram tracks, largely from MLP800 (though the last track on each side does not feature the Duke of Iron) |
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7" | Monogram | M-45-101 | Parakeets & Music Lesson | red vinyl | |||
7" | Lloyds Records | EP 711 | EP C 2000-2003 | Convoy, Invasion, Pam Palam & Out Of The Fire | |||
7" | Big Bamboo b/w One Gone | Monogram | M-863 | Big Bamboo & One Gone | |||
7" | Calypsos For Adam & Eve | Monogram | MEP-64 | Kalypso Records Ltd | SIDE A: Lord Kitchener "Big Toe" & Duke of Iron "Big Bamboo. SIDE B: Sir George Brown "He Like It, She Like It" & Four Deuces, "Lemme Go Emelda" | ||
7" | Coldest Woman b/w Sally Waters | Monogram | M-873 | Coldest Woman & Sally Waters | |||
7" | Creole Girl b/w Easy Fish | Monogram | ??? | Creole Girl & Easy Fish | |||
7" | Fire Down There b/w Clear De Road | Monogram | M-855 | Fire Down There & Clear De Road | |||
7" | Kockeemoonga b/w Mambo Calypso | Monogram | M-853 | Kockeemoonga & Mambo Calypso | |||
7" | Last Train b/w Loving Women Is Waste Of Time | Monogram | M-851 | Last Train & Loving Women Is Waste Of Time | |||
7" | Man Centipede b/w Calypso Samba | Monogram | ??? | Man Centipede & Calypso Samba | |||
7" | Man Smart b/w Medley Of Brown Skin Girl/Mary Anne | Monogram | ??? | Man Smart & Medley Of Brown Skin Girl/Mary Anne | |||
7" | Meringue Jam b/w ??? | Monogram | M-944 | Meringue Jam | |||
7" | Monkey Calypso b/w Undercover Man | Monogram | ??? | Monkey Calypso & Undercover Man | |||
7" | Music Lesson b/w I Left Her Behind For You | Monogram | M-850 | Music Lesson & I Left Her Behind For You | |||
7" | Music Lesson, Parakeets & Big Bamboo | Monogram | M-837 | Music Lesson, Parakeets & Big Bamboo | |||
7" | One Gone b/w Big Bamboo | Monogram | M-836 | One Gone & Big Bamboo | |||
7" | Parakeets b/w Monkee See Monkey Do | Monogram | M-865 | Parakeets & Monkee See Monkey Do | |||
7" | Postman b/w Man Smart, Woman Smarter | Monogram | M-872 | Postman & Man Smart, Woman Smarter | |||
7" | Rice And Tanya b/w Song Of Cecilia | Monogram | M-858 | Rice And Tanya & Song Of Cecilia | |||
7" | Samson And Delilah b/w Woman Police In Trinidad | Monogram | M-920 | Samson And Delilah & Woman Police In Trinidad | |||
7" | The Naughty Fly b/w Tie Up Me Dress | Monogram | M-834 | The Naughty Fly & Tie Up Me Dress | |||
7" | The Naughty Fly b/w Tie Up Me Dress | Monogram | M-206 | The Naughty Fly & Tie Up Me Dress | |||
7" | Wide Screen b/w Meringue Jenny | Monogram | M-934 | Wide Screen & Meringue Jenny | |||
7" | Zets Calypso b/w Gefeeltah Fish | Monogram | M-856 | Zets Calypso & Gefeeltah Fish | |||
7" EP | ??? | Monogram | MEP-104 | 1 Duke song | |||
7" EP | RCA Victor | 47-6841 | (H2NH-1824) DJ-89 | Take Me & Prisoner Arise | DJ white label single - split single with Lou Monte | ||
7" EP | Calypso Magic | Monogram | MEP-100 | Man Centipede, Woman Police, Calypso Samba & Man Smart - Woman Smarter | red vinyl | ||
7" EP | Calypso Magic | Monogram | MEP-103 | Trinidad Waltz & Freedom Waltz | Dukes castayan" Trinidad waltzes - split single with Trinidad Steel Band - red vinyl | ||
7" EP | Calypso Magic | R.C. Spenceley | VEP-402 (MEP-100) | Man Centipede, Woman Police, Calypso Samba & Man Smart, Woman Smarter | red vinyl | ||
78 | Apollo | 102 | C 2002/3 | Pam-Palam & Out The Fire | |||
1938 | 78 | Decca | 17345A | Bei Mir Bist du Schoen & ??? | credited to Felix & His Krazy Kats (with Cecil Duke Of Iron" Anderson on vocals) | ||
1938 | 78 | Decca | 17344B | Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight) & ??? | credited to Felix & His Krazy Kats (with Cecil Duke Of Iron" Anderson on vocals | ||
1938 | 78 | Decca | 17346A | The Dipsy Doodle-Paseo | also released as 1856 A - credited to Felix & His Krazy Kats (with Cecil Duke Of Iron" Anderson on vocals) | ||
1938 | 78 | Decca | 17346B | True Confession | credited to Felix & His Krazy Kats (with Cecil Duke Of Iron" Anderson on vocals) | ||
1939 | 78 | Varsity | 8138 | U.S.A. | |||
78 | Calypso | Disc Company of America | 628 | Matilda | 2 78s in a binder | ||
78 | Convoy b/w Calypsonian Invasion | Apollo | 106 | C2000-1 | Convoy & Calypsonian Invasion | ||
1944 | 78 | Dont Stop The Carnival b/w ??? | Asch | 105-3 | Dont Stop The Carnival | ||
78 | Duke Of Iron & His Calypso Troubadours | Titan Records | 1102 | Curacao (vocal by Jeanne DeMetz) & Jo Jo Zombie (The Voodoo Man) - vocal with orchestra | |||
78 | Duke Of The Calypso b/w Jam Session | Stinson | 105 | Duke Of The Calypso & Jam Session | |||
78 | Georgie Porgie b/w Bootanga | Monogram | M-857 | Georgie Porgie & Bootanga | |||
1938 | 78 | Josephine b/w Bob White | Decca | 17344A | Josephine & Bob White | credited to Felix & His Krazy Kats (with Cecil Duke Of Iron" Anderson on vocals | |
1939 | 78 | Maria b/w Walter Winchell | Varsity | 8130 | Maria & Walter Winchell | credited to Gerald Clark & His Calypso Orchestra | |
1945 | 78 | Matilda b/w Donkey Wants Water (by Macbeth) | Disc | 5056 | Matilda | ||
78 | Mickey Cipriani b/w Rookoombey | Stinson | 1051 | Mickey Cipriani & Rookoombey | |||
1945 | 78 | Small Island b/w Sly Mongoose | Disc | 5058A | Small Island & Sly Mongoose | ||
LP | Calypso | Grand Award Records | GA 33-357 | Convoy, Calypsonian Invasion & Out Of The Fire |