Aldwyn Roberts (18 April 1922 – 11 February 2000), better known by the stage name Lord Kitchener (or "Kitch"), was a Trinidadian calypsonian. He has been described as "the grand master of calypso" and "the greatest calypsonian of the post-war age".

Early life

Roberts was born in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, 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. Within two years, Kitchener was a regular performer on BBC radio and was much in demand for live performances. He immortalised the defining moment for many of the migrants in writing the "Victory Calypso" with its lyrics "Cricket, Lovely Cricket" to celebrate the West Indies cricket team's first victory over England in England, in the Second Test at Lord's in June 1950. This was one of the first widely known West Indian songs, and epitomised an event that historian and cricket enthusiast C. L. R. James defined as crucial to West Indian post-colonial societies.

Kitchener opened a nightclub in Manchester, and had a successful residency at The Sunset in London. Further US performances followed in the mid-1950s. 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.

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 1993, a campaign was launched for Kitchener to receive the island's highest civilian honour, the Trinity Cross.

Family

<!--(Pls respond on talk page before removing this) In 1952, he married Marjorie Lines from Manchester (with whom he adopted a son called Tyrone in March 1962)-->

In 1952, Kitchener met his future wife, Elsie Lines. They married in 1953, and lived for a period in Manchester where Kitchener ran a nightclub. The couple adopted a baby named Tyrone Roberts, and the family of three moved back to Trinidad. Kitchener and Elsie divorced in 1968. He later partnered with Valerie Green with whom he had four children (Christian, Kernel, Quweina and Kirnister Roberts), and had a relationship with Betsy Pollard.

Kitchener's son Kernal Roberts is also a performer, playing drums for soca band Traffik in the 1990s and for Xtatik in the early 2000s. 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)

|}

Discography

  • Birth of Ghana Birth (1957)
  • 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's Encore Award and the Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. In 2015 Joseph also presented a 30-minute radio documentary Kitch! for BBC Radio 4, which is available via the BBC Radio 4 website.

See also

  • Jump in the Line (Shake, Señora)

References

  • "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.
  • A Tribute to Lord Kitchener ( )