Calypso

Long before reggae (or even ska) came jumping out of Jamaica, calypso was the Caribbean's most kickin' musical export. The syncopated sounds and verbal volleys of calypso took over Trinidad by the '20s, but in '45, an Americanized version of Lord Invader's social satire "Rum and Coca-Cola" took the Andrews Sisters to the top of the U.S. charts. And in '56, Harry Belafonte's take on the traditional "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" made his album Calypso the first-ever million-selling LP, starting a transcontinental craze. And if the Duke of Iron's "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" sounds strangely familiar, it might be because it's been covered over the years by everyone from the Grateful Dead to Desi Arnaz on I Love Lucy.

Take a royal romp with the kings of calypso, in Next Steps.

Many of Trinidad's greatest calypsonians took regal names that started with "Lord," "King," or "Mighty," to flaunt their verbal virtuosity. But their bold braggadocio is rooted in real-world topics — take Lord Kitchener's "Tribute to Spree Simon" for example, where the calypso king sings the praises of the man who pioneered the steel drums. Caresser gave the world the most hip-swiveling history lesson ever with "Edward the VIII," an homage to the king who threw away his throne for the love of a woman. And David Rudder carried the torch of the classic calypsonians into a whole new era with his update of Mighty Spoiler's send-up of civilization, "Tarzan."

In Deep Cuts, discover why there's a little bit of calypso in everybody.

The spirit of calypso is too irresistible, the sound too infectious to be bound to any one time or place. The music may have taken off in '20s Trinidad and started spreading in the '40s with classic cuts like Sir Lancelot's much-covered "Scandal In the Family," but that didn't stop Hollywood hero Robert Mitchum from cutting a 1957 album full of surprisingly convincing calypso cuts, like "Coconut Water." And it sure didn't prevent later generations of calypsonians, like Sugar Aloes, from keeping the sound current with bitingly political, soca-tinged tracks like "Jubilation."

Decades before reggae, calypso clued the world in on the wonders of island rhythms. When hip-hop was just a twinkle in the eye of Grandmaster Flash's grandfather, the great calypsonians, like Lord Kitchener and the Mighty Sparrow, developed a brand of sharp-shooting linguistic lightning all their own. Down through the decades, calypso has combined lyrics well worth digesting and a beat that speaks straight to the feet. But with so many years of music to choose from, where can you begin your journey through the sounds that spread from Trinidad to the rest of the globe? Not to worry — we've combed the calypso archives, from the stone-cold classics that started it all, through the days of the international craze, all the way up to the cutting-edge calypsonians of today. The results? Seventy-five ways to give your groove thing a Caribbean kick.