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 Mighty Sparrow or Birdie (born Slinger Francisco, July 9, 1935, in Grand Roy, Grenada, West Indies) is a calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World," he is one of the most well-known and successful calypsonians. He has won Trinidad's Carnival Road March competition eight times and has been named Calypso Monarch eleven times.  Calypso Rose born, McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis, April 27, 1940 in Bethel, Tobago is a Tobagonian calypsonian. She began writing songs at the age of 15, and has written over 800 songs. In 1966 she wrote the song Fire in Me Wire, which has since become a calypso anthem. Rose was the first female to win the Trinidad Road March Competition, in 1977 with her song Tempo. She won the Calypso Queen title five years running. She has also won both the Trinidad Calypso Crown and Road March competitions in 1978, the Sunshine Award in 1989 and the Trinidad and Tobago Hummingbird Medal in 2000.  Lord Kitchener born Aldwyn Roberts (18 April 1922 – 11 February 2000), was one of the most internationally famous calypsonians from Trinidad and Tobago.Kitchener's success began after he moved to England. His fame continued throughout the 1950s, when calypso achieved international success. Later, though, 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.   Ras Shorty I (October 6, 1941-July 12, 2000) was a soca musician, known as the Father of Soca and The Love Man. He was born Garfield Blackman in Barrackpore, Trinidad and Tobago, and rose to fame as Lord Shorty with his 1963 hit "Clock and Dagger" and took on the name Ras Shorty after becoming a Rastafarian. He started out writing songs and performing in the calypso genre. In the 1970s, he began experimenting with calypso by blending it with the local chutney—the music of Trinidad's East Indian population—using instruments such as the sitar and tabla. The style was dubbed "soca".Lord Shorty, as he is still known, released his hit song "Indrani" in 1973, which is considered the first recorded soca piece. The following year's Endless Vibrations earned him a devoted fan base, and a following of musicians who began performing in his style. His fame continued to grow throughout the 1970s, and he became one of the country's top performers. He recorded tracks such as Kim and Money Eh No Problem, which was a stinging political and social commentary based on the words of Trinidad's then Prime Minister, Eric Williams of the People's National Movement. Money Eh No Problem was used in a political advertising campaign in 2000 for the United National Congress.   The Mighty Shadow born Winston Bailey (October 2, 1941), better known by his stage name Shadow, is a calypsonian from Trinidad and Tobago. Bailey was born in Belmont, a suburb of Port of Spain in Trinidad, but grew up in Les Coteaux, Tobago with his grandparents. He began to sing at a very early age and he wanted to be a singer although his grandfather told him he must be a lawyer.He won the Road March in 1974 and 2001 with "Bassman" and "Stranger" respectively. He won the Calypso Monarch in 2000 with "What's Wrong With Me" and "Scratch Meh Back." Shadow is also known for his unique dance in which he jumped to the tempo of his music in "skip-rope style" with both feet in the air at the same time. He won the Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird Medal (Silver) in 2003. He was the first to win both the International Soca Monarch and the Trinidad Road March competitions simultaneously, a feat he accomplished in 2001 with his song "Stranger".   Arrow born (Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell), MBE (November 16, 1949 – September 15, 2010) was a calypso and soca musician who performed under the stage name Arrow, and is regarded as the first superstar of soca from Montserrat. He began singing calypso in 1967 and took the Junior Monarch title that year. He took up singing professionally in 1969, and in that year he was runner up in the Montserrat Calypso King competition, going on to win the title the following year (following in the footsteps of his brothers Justin (a.k.a. Hero) and Lorenzo (a.k.a. Young Challenger). He would go on to take the title a total of four times. Cassell began to fuse calypso with other genres such as R&B, Zouk and salsa, resulting in some criticism, with accusations that he was destroying Montserrat's calypso traditions. Others argued, his updating of the genre brought it to a new audience. In 1982, Cassell began working with arranger Leston Paul, and, with his Multi National Force band, recorded the album Hot Hot Hot, the title track, "Hot Hot Hot", becoming his first pan-Caribbean hit and the biggest selling soca hit of all time. It was adopted as the theme song of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, and was later covered by David Johansen (in his Buster Poindexter alter ego), Menudo, and Babla & Kanchan. Cassell died peacefully at his home in Montserrat with his family at his side, on Wednesday Sept. 15, 2010 after battling cerebral cancer for more than a year and a half.   David Michael Rudder (born May 6, 1953, Belmont, Trinidad and Tobago) is a calypsonian from Trinidad.David Rudder is one of the top calypsonians of all time. In 1977, he joined Charlie's Roots, one of the top bands in Trinidad and Tobago. He spent many years as one of the vocalists with the band. In 1986 he burst into prominence with his album The Hammer which produced two big hits, The Hammer (a tribute to the late pannist Rudolph Charles) and Bahia Girl. This was followed in 1987 with Calypso Music, a brilliant encapsulation of the history of calypso. In 1988 Rudder released his best album to date, Haiti, which included the title track, a tribute to the glory and suffering of Haiti; Engine Room, which captured the energy of the steel band; and "Rally 'Round the West Indies," which became the anthem of West Indies cricket. In 2008, David Rudder did a Soca collaboration with fellow Trinidadian Machel Montano, Oil and Music on Machel's 2007 album Flame on.   Alison Hinds (born 1 June 1970) is a Barbadian female soca artist based in the Caribbean island of Barbados. She is one of the most popular soca singers in the world and has been given the nickname the "Queen of Soca". She has produced many popular songs that top charts even in countries which do not widely listen to soca. She is known for her unique voice. In 1986, Alison Hinds joined the soca band Square One, which became one of the top Soca bands in the Caribbean. Alison produced her first hit in the year 1996, "Ragamuffin". That song made her win road march of that year during the Barbados' Crop Over Festival. The following year she repeated road march and also won The Party Monarch with another hit "Twister". Alison was the first woman to ever win these titles in Barbados. This led to Hinds' role as the lead singer in the band.   Machel Montano (born 24 November 1974, Trinidad and Tobago) is a soca singer, record producer and songwriter based in the Caribbean.He is the frontman of the popular soca band Xtatik, and is noted for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances. During his career, which spans over 25 years, he has recorded several songs alongside many of Caribbean music's most popular acts, such as Admiral T, Alison Hinds, Beenie Man, Calypso Rose, Burning Flames, Drupatee, Wyclef Jean, Canibus, Red Rat, Shaggy, Sparrow, Denise Belfon, Ken Marlon Charles (KMC), Destra, Walker Hornung, Vybz Kartel, G-Unit, Black Stalin, David Rudder, Buju Banton, Mr. Vegas, Doug E. Fresh, Pitbull and many others. In 1987 he was the youngest finalist to ever win the Caribbean Song Festival. Machel now stands as one of the most well-known soca acts in the world and has tried in many ways to bring soca into the mainstream by promoting it, using his leverage as an artist able to sell-out shows. Recently he has moved to the Los Angeles area to further this pursuit saying "I may not be the one to bring it forth, but in the meantime, I have a lot of work to do in order for something to happen. 
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Denyse Plummer is a calypso singer from Trinidad and Tobago. The 1954-born blue-eyed daughter of a white father and black mother, she initially faced significant prejudice in a genre traditionally seen as Afro-Caribbean, but was eventually recognized as a leading calypso performer.
Dave Martins and the Tradewinds, known for their witty and insightful songs of Caribbean life, the Tradewinds, formed in 1966, have become one of the most revered groups in the West Indies. Led by the versatile Dave Martins (Guyana) with his guitar, vocal and composing ability, the group, like it's name, reflects the span of the Caribbean. o
