The Caribbean saw a significant rise in tourism following WWII. In the Bahamas, as was elsewhere, musicians began melding musical styles to accommodate the tourists. "Calypso was stereotypically represented to tourists as an exotic, sensual music, associated with tropical beaches and lush foliage." Arguably the most adroit of these crossover Calypsians was George Symonette. Symonette helped pioneer the sound of goombay, the Bahamian off-shoot of Calypso. I first heard of George Symonette, known as "The King of Goombay," through my grandfather, a jazz and blues aficionado who saw Symonette play in Nassau in the 50's. His music was tough to track down, but I eventually came across a vinyl rip of his album Bahamian Troubadour. It's sort of an island mix between George Benson, Mississippi John Hurt, and early Kinks. George Symonette - Mama, Out De Light [from Bahamian Troubadour]
Bahamian internet commercial featuring George Symonette's "Don't Touch Me Tomato"
2 comments:
Would it be possible to re-post this track again? Seems interesting.
Is it possible to re-up this song or, even better, the album? I long to hear it.
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