George Symonette Plays and Sings Calypso, by George Symonette

George Symonette Plays and Sings Calypso

by George Symonette

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more

1.	The John B. Sail (1964 Version) 02:36	buy track
2.	Sky Blue Pink Caribee 02:26	buy track
3.	Peel Peel Peel de Banana 01:57	buy track
4.	Doin' The Gooma in Exuma 02:12	buy track
5.	Delia Gone (1964 Version) 03:18	buy track
6.	Love Alone (1964 Version) 02:28	buy track
7.	Come to Paradise Island 03:09	buy track
8.	Eight Babies to Mind (1964 Version) 02:44	buy track
9.	Jones, Oh Jones (1964 Version) 02:18	buy track
10.	J. P. Morgan (1964 Version) 02:39	buy track
11.	Boat Pull Out and Bahama Mamma (Medley) (1964 Version) 02:51	buy track
12.	Uncle Lou and Lazy Man (1964 Version) 02:47	buy track
13.	Momma Out de Light (bonus track) 02:48	buy track
14.	Hip-So Calypso (bonus track) 02:06	buy track
15.	Pretty Boy (bonus track) 02:00	buy track

about

This is George Symonette's final full album of seven recorded (along with several EPs and singles) from 1955 to 1964 for Bahama Records. There's some overlap in titles from album to album, but all of the encores are retooled versions (and are flagged as such in our digital releases). This album is credited (on the back cover) to the "Famous Symonette Sextette," and features Berkley "Peanuts" Taylor on Goombay drums.

This release was hailed as a "Tenth Anniversary Album," celebrating Symonette's long-term association with the Harold E. Doane-owned Art and Bahama Records labels. Symonette did not record for any other label, and he never had a record issued in the U.S. There is no indication Symonette ever performed anywhere except the Bahamas, which would have limited the market for his titles. He was strictly a local artist and, hence, a local commodity.

All Symonette sessions were recorded with small combos (including some solo and duo works), and all tracks sound like Symonette was smiling when he recorded them. (He is, in fact, smiling in every existing photo.) His artistry is undeniable, his charisma self-evident. He was referred to in print as the "Dean of Bahamian Entertainers," "Nassau's Foremost Night-Club Entertainer," "The Undisputed Calypso Champion of the Bahamas," and as "Nassau's Number One Ambassador of Goombay." He might have been none, some, or all of these things, but if there was a challenger, show us the recordings and let us judge any potential rivals. In the absence of known regional competitors, Symonette is sublime as an interpreter of traditional calypso tunes and as an adapter of works by other writers.

The original LP featured 12 songs. Track 13 on this digital collection appeared on a 7" three-artist EP entitled "Hits from Bahama Hot Spots" (which included two tracks by Symonette, and one each from Harold McNair and Eloise Lewis). Tracks 14 and 15 originated on the Symonette album IN STEREO; the album's channels were almost binary in separation, and the transfer was remixed for a more natural sonic balance.

credits

released December 3, 2020

George Symonette: lead vocals and piano
Berkley "Peanuts" Taylor: Goombay drums and vocal harmonies
Jack Roker: electric guitar
Harold "Little G" McNair: flute
Dennis Donaldson: bass
(Though billed as a sextet, there is no sixth musician credited on the sleeve.)

Originally issued on Bahama Records (BR-36), 1964
Production: Wayne Carmichael
Audio restoration: Irwin Chusid (2020)
Original tapes are presumably lost, and this collection was remastered from best available vinyl sources.

All tracks composed (including traditional arrangements) by George Symonette, except:
"Sky Blue Pink Caribee," "Peel Peel Peel De Banana," and "Come to Paradise Island" by Alice Simms
"Boat Pull Out and Bahama Mamma Medley" by Alice Simms and Charles Lofthouse
"Doin' The Gooma In Exuma" by Van Campen Heilner
"Jones, Oh Jones" by Blake Alphonso Higgs (Blind Blake)

license

about

Cosmic Spy Music Hoboken, New Jersey

Finding things on the scrapheap of history that we know don't belong there, and salvaging them.

contact / help

Contact Cosmic Spy Music

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like George Symonette Plays and Sings Calypso, you may also like:

Margarita
by Combo Chimbita

featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 27, 2024
go to album
Abya Yala
by Combo Chimbita

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 25, 2022
go to album
Memoria
by Combo Chimbita

featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 14, 2021
go to album
Psychic
by polyhedren

With features that include Nels Cline and The Residents, this album from polyhedren is a cinematic trip through global music. Bandcamp New & Notable May 1, 2022
go to album
Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound
by Kasai Allstars

The Kinshasa collective's latest centers around the very idea that was the basis of their success 15 years ago: that unity is strength. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 13, 2021
go to album
Pancada Motor - Transformação e Cura
by DJ Tudo e sua gente de todo lugar

featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 30, 2021
go to album
On/Off
by Bachar Mar-Khalifé

Recorded in his native Lebanon, Bachar Mar-Khalifé's latest is a moving collection of ambient soundscapes both classical and avant-garde. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 29, 2020
go to album