BIOGRAPHY
Raymond Quevedo (24 March 1892 – 22 February 1962), better known as Atilla the Hun, sang his first calypso publicly in 1911 as a chantwell (lead singer) for a Carnival band in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He was a leading Trinidad calypsonian for almost half-a-century, being at his most prominent in the 1930s and 1940s when he sang at the Original Old Brigade Tent. He was one of the pioneers in spreading awareness of calypso beyond its birthplace in Trinidad and Tobago. Together with the Roaring Lion (Rafael de Leon) he brought calypso to the United States for the first time in March1934 when Eduardo Sa Gomes, the Trinidad agent for Brunswick Records, sent Lion and Atilla to record calypsos in New York City. This arrangement was one of the defining moments in calypso history. While Lioenel Belasco, Wilmouth Houdini and others had recorded calypsos abroad before, this was the first time that locally based calypsonians traveled to New York "on contract" to record. Atilla and Lion's recording session was successful and proved to be the start of a 10-year annual flow of calypsonians to the US. While in New York City, Lion and Atilla also appeared on the Rudy Vallee's Fleishman's Variety Hour radio show on WEAF on March 8th 1934 that was heard, though just barely and with great static, on shortwave in Trinidad. The singers also appeared as part of the floor show at Vallee's Hollywood Cafe on Broadway in Manhattan and performed for President Roosevelt at a charity function at the Waldorf Astoria. In 1935, Atilla formed the Keskidee Trio along with Tiger and Lord Beginner and they recorded Congo Bara / Duke And Duchess Of Kent, accompanied by Gerald Clark and His Caribbean Serenaders. They also recorded the ever-popular Don't Le' Me Mother Know. |
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BIOGRAPHY
Raymond Quevedo (24 March 1892 – 22 February 1962), better known as Atilla the Hun, sang his first calypso publicly in 1911 as a chantwell (lead singer) for a Carnival band in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He was a leading Trinidad calypsonian for almost half-a-century, being at his most prominent in the 1930s and 1940s when he sang at the Original Old Brigade Tent. He was one of the pioneers in spreading awareness of calypso beyond its birthplace in Trinidad and Tobago. Together with the Roaring Lion (Rafael de Leon) he brought calypso to the United States for the first time in March1934 when Eduardo Sa Gomes, the Trinidad agent for Brunswick Records, sent Lion and Atilla to record calypsos in New York City. This arrangement was one of the defining moments in calypso history. While Lioenel Belasco, Wilmouth Houdini and others had recorded calypsos abroad before, this was the first time that locally based calypsonians traveled to New York "on contract" to record. Atilla and Lion's recording session was successful and proved to be the start of a 10-year annual flow of calypsonians to the US. While in New York City, Lion and Atilla also appeared on the Rudy Vallee's Fleishman's Variety Hour radio show on WEAF on March 8th 1934 that was heard, though just barely and with great static, on shortwave in Trinidad. The singers also appeared as part of the floor show at Vallee's Hollywood Cafe on Broadway in Manhattan and performed for President Roosevelt at a charity function at the Waldorf Astoria. In 1935, Atilla formed the Keskidee Trio along with Tiger and Lord Beginner and they recorded Congo Bara / Duke And Duchess Of Kent, accompanied by Gerald Clark and His Caribbean Serenaders. They also recorded the ever-popular Don't Le' Me Mother Know. |
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