Thursday, February 23, 2012

Tropical Tunes

The West Indies were really a happening place back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. First, there was calypso, then ska, then cadence, then an oddly named rhythm peculiar to Barbados (the Spouge), then salsa, to name a few... First they were popular on their home island and then some became really popular abroad, usually in "the mother country," i.e.; the nation that controlled the island during the colonial period, such as England for Jamaica, France for Martinique, and the Netherlands for Curacao. Most of the island stars knew this: if you wanted to be an international star, you had to go to England, France, or the Netherlands in order to record for the international market and in order to make it big. And most stars did this gladly as it would lead to bigger and better things.

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