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{{short description|American musician}}
{{short description|American Caribbean music composer (1924–2019)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_prefix =
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| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Irving Louis Burgie
| birth_name = Irving Louis Burgie
| alias = Lord Burgess<br>Irving Burgess
| alias = Lord Burgess<br />Irving Burgess
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|7|28}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|7|28}}
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
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| associated_acts = [[Harry Belafonte]]
| associated_acts = [[Harry Belafonte]]
}}
}}

'''Irving Louis Burgie''' (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as '''Lord Burgess''',<ref>{{cite news|last=Nesmith|first=Nathaniel|title=Irving Burgie, Who Wrote Calypso Hits for Harry Belafonte, Dies at 95|date=December 1, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/arts/music/irving-burgie-dead.html|access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of [[Caribbean music]].<ref name=hall>[https://www.songhall.org/profile/Irving_Burgie "Irving Burgie", ''Songwriters Hall of Fame'']. Retrieved 2 December 2019</ref> He composed 34 songs for [[Harry Belafonte]], including eight of the 11 songs on the Belafonte album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'' (1956), the first album of any kind to sell one million copies.<ref name=amg/> Burgie also wrote the lyrics of the [[National Anthem of Barbados]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19063605|title=Olympics 2012: The secrets behind national anthems|date=August 2, 2012|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.{{cn|date=December 2019}}
'''Irving Louis Burgie''' (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as '''Lord Burgess''',<ref>{{cite news|last=Nesmith|first=Nathaniel|title=Irving Burgie, Who Wrote Calypso Hits for Harry Belafonte, Dies at 95|date=December 1, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/arts/music/irving-burgie-dead.html|access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of [[Caribbean music]].<ref name=hall>[https://www.songhall.org/profile/Irving_Burgie "Irving Burgie", ''Songwriters Hall of Fame'']. Retrieved 2 December 2019</ref> He composed 34 songs for [[Harry Belafonte]], including eight of the 11 songs on the Belafonte album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'' (1956), the first album of any kind to sell one million copies.<ref name=amg/> Burgie also wrote the lyrics of the [[National Anthem of Barbados]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19063605|title=Olympics 2012: The secrets behind national anthems|date=August 2, 2012|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.{{cn|date=December 2019}}


==Biography==
==Biography==
Burgie was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Irving Burgie obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/02/irving-burgie-obituary |access-date=2 December 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Peter |last=Mason |date=2 December 2019}}</ref> His mother was from [[Barbados]] and his father was from [[Virginia]]. He joined the [[US Army]] in [[World War II]], and served in [[Burma]], [[China]] and [[India]], where he started playing guitar and singing. After the war, he studied at the [[Juilliard School]], and met Harry Belafonte in 1950.<ref name=amg>[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lord-burgess-mn0000278106 Biography by Bruce Eder], ''Allmusic.com''. Retrieved December 1, 2019.</ref><ref name=kalish/> Using the name Lord Burgess, he began singing and playing guitar in New York City clubs, developing a repertoire based around songs from the [[Caribbean]] he had learned as a child or collected in visits to the area.<ref name=amg/>
Burgie was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Irving Burgie obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/02/irving-burgie-obituary |access-date=2 December 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Peter |last=Mason |date=2 December 2019}}</ref> His mother was from [[Barbados]] and his father was from [[Virginia]]. Burgie joined the [[US Army]] in [[World War II]], and served in [[Burma]], [[China]] and [[India]], where he started playing guitar and singing. After the war, he studied at the [[Juilliard School]], and met [[Harry Belafonte]] in 1950.<ref name=amg>[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lord-burgess-mn0000278106 Biography by Bruce Eder], ''Allmusic.com''. Retrieved December 1, 2019.</ref><ref name=kalish/> Using the name Lord Burgess, he began singing and playing guitar in New York City clubs, developing a repertoire based around songs from the [[Caribbean]] that he had learned as a child or collected in visits to the area.<ref name=amg/>


After performing as Lord Burgess in the [[Village Vanguard]] in 1954, and releasing an album, ''Lord Burgess' Calypso Serenaders'' (aka ''Folk Songs of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad'') on [[Stinson Records]],<ref name=amg/> a mutual friend, [[William Attaway]], suggested that Burgie write songs for Belafonte.<ref name=kalish/> Burgie and Attaway wrote a version of the lyrics for the "[[Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)]]" for the ''[[Colgate Comedy Hour]]'', and it was then recorded by Belafonte for [[RCA Victor]]. This is the recording that is by far the best known to listeners today, as it reached number five on the ''Billboard'' charts in 1957 and later became his [[signature song]].
After he performed as Lord Burgess in the [[Village Vanguard]] in 1954, and released an album, ''Lord Burgess' Calypso Serenaders'' (aka ''Folk Songs of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad'') on [[Stinson Records]],<ref name=amg/> a mutual friend, [[William Attaway]], suggested that Burgie write songs for Belafonte.<ref name=kalish/> Burgie and Attaway wrote a version of the lyrics for the "[[Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)]]" for the ''[[Colgate Comedy Hour]]'', and it was then recorded by Belafonte for [[RCA Victor]]. This is the recording that is by far the best known to listeners today, as it reached number five on the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]] in 1957 and later became his [[signature song]].


Burgie and Attaway composed eight of the songs on Belafonte's 1956 album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'', including "Day-O"' and "[[Jamaica Farewell]]". "Day-O" was a traditional Jamaican song that was sung by dock workers who worked throughout the night loading bananas onto ships. Belafonte's version used lyrics adapted by Burgie and Attaway, though Belafonte is also credited. Burgie later described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people in a colonized life doing the most grueling work", saying "a lot of my work is based on songs and ditties that I've heard in the Caribbean".<ref name=kalish/> The song "Jamaica Farewell" was later recorded by [[Jimmy Buffett]], [[Carly Simon]] and others.
Burgie and Attaway composed eight of the songs on Belafonte's 1956 album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'', including "Day-O"' and "[[Jamaica Farewell]]". "Day-O" was a traditional Jamaican song that was sung by dock workers who worked throughout the night loading bananas onto ships. Belafonte's version used lyrics adapted by Burgie and Attaway, though Belafonte is also credited. Burgie later described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people in a colonized life doing the most grueling work", saying "a lot of my work is based on songs and ditties that I've heard in the Caribbean".<ref name=kalish/> The song "Jamaica Farewell" was later recorded by [[Jimmy Buffett]], [[Carly Simon]], and others.


Belafonte recorded other songs written by Burgie, including "[[Island in the Sun (Harry Belafonte song)|Island in the Sun]]", one of ten Burgie compositions on his 1957 album ''[[Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean]]''. Burgie also wrote eight of the twelve tracks on his 1961 album ''[[Jump Up Calypso]]'', and also wrote "Can't Cross Over", and co-wrote "Goin' Down Jordan", on Belafonte's 1977 album ''[[Turn the World Around]]''.
Belafonte recorded other songs written by Burgie, including "[[Island in the Sun (Harry Belafonte song)|Island in the Sun]]", one of ten Burgie compositions on his 1957 album ''[[Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean]]''. Burgie also wrote eight of the twelve tracks on Belafonte's 1961 album ''[[Jump Up Calypso]]'', and also wrote "Can't Cross Over", and co-wrote "Goin' Down Jordan", on Belafonte's 1977 album ''[[Turn the World Around]]''.


Burgie set up his own publishing company. By the late 1950s he was able to live comfortably off the [[royalties]] he received, and in 1960 he funded a magazine in [[Harlem]], ''The Urbanite''. He also helped finance [[Civil rights movement|civil rights activists]].<ref name=kalish/> He wrote the music and lyrics for the 1963 [[Off Broadway|off-Broadway]] musical ''Ballad for Bimshire'' and also co-wrote the book with [[Loften Mitchell]].<ref name=amg/> The show opened at the Mayfair Theater on October 15 and ran for 74 performances. Burgie also wrote the lyrics for the [[national anthem]] of [[Barbados]], "[[In Plenty and In Time of Need]]", adopted in 1966 at the time of the island's independence.<ref name=kalish/>
Burgie set up his own publishing company. By the late 1950s, he was able to live comfortably off the [[royalties]] he received, and in 1960 he funded a magazine in [[Harlem]], ''The Urbanite''. He also helped finance [[Civil rights movement|civil rights activists]].<ref name=kalish/> He wrote the music and lyrics for the 1963 [[Off Broadway|off-Broadway]] musical ''Ballad for Bimshire'' and also co-wrote the book with [[Loften Mitchell]].<ref name=amg/> The show opened at the Mayfair Theater on October 15 and ran for 74 performances. Burgie also wrote the lyrics for the [[national anthem]] of [[Barbados]], "[[In Plenty and In Time of Need]]", adopted in 1966 at the time of the island's independence.<ref name=kalish/>


Burgie performed rarely after his initial success, but did appear in the early 1980s at venues including [[Gerde's Folk City]]. In 1996, the album ''Island in the Sun: The Songs of Irving Burgie'' was released, followed by ''The Father of Modern Calypso'' in 2003.<ref name=amg/>
Burgie performed rarely after his initial success, but did appear in the early 1980s at venues including [[Gerde's Folk City]]. In 1996, the album ''Island in the Sun: The Songs of Irving Burgie'' was released, followed by ''The Father of Modern Calypso'' in 2003.<ref name=amg/>


He was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 2007.<ref name=hall/> His life story was recorded in the book ''Day-O!!! The Autobiography of Irving Burgie'' (2007).{{cn|date=August 2019}}
He was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 2007.<ref name=hall/> His life story was recorded in the book ''Day-O!!! The Autobiography of Irving Burgie'' (2007).{{cn|date=August 2019}}


Burgie died on November 29, 2019, at the age of 95, from heart failure, at his home in [[Queens]].<ref name=kalish>Jon Kalish, [https://www.npr.org/2019/11/30/783874259/irving-burgie-songwriter-who-helped-bring-calypso-to-america-dies-at-95 "Irving Burgie, Songwriter Who Helped Bring Calypso To America, Dies At 95"], ''NPR'', November 30, 2019.</ref><ref name="barbadostoday">{{cite web |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2019/11/30/irving-burgie-dies/ |title=Irving Burgie dies |author=<!-- Not stated--> |date=November 30, 2019 |website=Barbados Today |access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nydailynews">{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-obit-irving-burgie-20191130-rnbmlebucbgazgdpkhvhbpsqvi-story.html |title=Songwriter Irving Burgie, the prolific man behind 'Day-O' and other calypso hits, dead at age 95 |last=McShane |first=Larry |date=November 30, 2019 |website=New York Daily News |publisher=Tribune Publishing Company |access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref> His death was announced by Barbados' Prime Minister [[Mia Amor Mottley]] at the nation’s Independence Day Parade.<ref name=hall/>
Burgie died on November 29, 2019, at the age of 95, from heart failure, at his home in [[Queens]], New York.<ref name=kalish>Jon Kalish, [https://www.npr.org/2019/11/30/783874259/irving-burgie-songwriter-who-helped-bring-calypso-to-america-dies-at-95 "Irving Burgie, Songwriter Who Helped Bring Calypso To America, Dies At 95"], ''NPR'', November 30, 2019.</ref><ref name="barbadostoday">{{cite web |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2019/11/30/irving-burgie-dies/ |title=Irving Burgie dies |author=<!-- Not stated--> |date=November 30, 2019 |website=Barbados Today |access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nydailynews">{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-obit-irving-burgie-20191130-rnbmlebucbgazgdpkhvhbpsqvi-story.html |title=Songwriter Irving Burgie, the prolific man behind 'Day-O' and other calypso hits, dead at age 95 |last=McShane |first=Larry |date=November 30, 2019 |website=New York Daily News |publisher=Tribune Publishing Company |access-date=November 30, 2019}}</ref> His death was announced by Barbados' Prime Minister [[Mia Amor Mottley]] at the nation’s Independence Day Parade.<ref name=hall/>


==Discography==
==Discography==
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:American expatriates in China]]
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[[Category:American expatriates in India]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Myanmar]]
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[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Musicians from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Musicians from Brooklyn]]
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[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:National anthem writers]]
[[Category:National anthem writers]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American expatriates in China]]
[[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]]
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[[Category:American expatriates in India]]

Latest revision as of 08:35, 12 October 2024

Irving Burgie
Birth nameIrving Louis Burgie
Also known asLord Burgess
Irving Burgess
Born(1924-07-28)July 28, 1924
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 2019(2019-11-29) (aged 95)
Queens, New York City, U.S.
GenresFolk music, calypso
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter

Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as Lord Burgess,[1] was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.[2] He composed 34 songs for Harry Belafonte, including eight of the 11 songs on the Belafonte album Calypso (1956), the first album of any kind to sell one million copies.[3] Burgie also wrote the lyrics of the National Anthem of Barbados.[4] To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]

Biography

[edit]

Burgie was born in Brooklyn, New York.[5] His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia. Burgie joined the US Army in World War II, and served in Burma, China and India, where he started playing guitar and singing. After the war, he studied at the Juilliard School, and met Harry Belafonte in 1950.[3][6] Using the name Lord Burgess, he began singing and playing guitar in New York City clubs, developing a repertoire based around songs from the Caribbean that he had learned as a child or collected in visits to the area.[3]

After he performed as Lord Burgess in the Village Vanguard in 1954, and released an album, Lord Burgess' Calypso Serenaders (aka Folk Songs of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad) on Stinson Records,[3] a mutual friend, William Attaway, suggested that Burgie write songs for Belafonte.[6] Burgie and Attaway wrote a version of the lyrics for the "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" for the Colgate Comedy Hour, and it was then recorded by Belafonte for RCA Victor. This is the recording that is by far the best known to listeners today, as it reached number five on the Billboard charts in 1957 and later became his signature song.

Burgie and Attaway composed eight of the songs on Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso, including "Day-O"' and "Jamaica Farewell". "Day-O" was a traditional Jamaican song that was sung by dock workers who worked throughout the night loading bananas onto ships. Belafonte's version used lyrics adapted by Burgie and Attaway, though Belafonte is also credited. Burgie later described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people in a colonized life doing the most grueling work", saying "a lot of my work is based on songs and ditties that I've heard in the Caribbean".[6] The song "Jamaica Farewell" was later recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Carly Simon, and others.

Belafonte recorded other songs written by Burgie, including "Island in the Sun", one of ten Burgie compositions on his 1957 album Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean. Burgie also wrote eight of the twelve tracks on Belafonte's 1961 album Jump Up Calypso, and also wrote "Can't Cross Over", and co-wrote "Goin' Down Jordan", on Belafonte's 1977 album Turn the World Around.

Burgie set up his own publishing company. By the late 1950s, he was able to live comfortably off the royalties he received, and in 1960 he funded a magazine in Harlem, The Urbanite. He also helped finance civil rights activists.[6] He wrote the music and lyrics for the 1963 off-Broadway musical Ballad for Bimshire and also co-wrote the book with Loften Mitchell.[3] The show opened at the Mayfair Theater on October 15 and ran for 74 performances. Burgie also wrote the lyrics for the national anthem of Barbados, "In Plenty and In Time of Need", adopted in 1966 at the time of the island's independence.[6]

Burgie performed rarely after his initial success, but did appear in the early 1980s at venues including Gerde's Folk City. In 1996, the album Island in the Sun: The Songs of Irving Burgie was released, followed by The Father of Modern Calypso in 2003.[3]

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.[2] His life story was recorded in the book Day-O!!! The Autobiography of Irving Burgie (2007).[citation needed]

Burgie died on November 29, 2019, at the age of 95, from heart failure, at his home in Queens, New York.[6][7][8] His death was announced by Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the nation’s Independence Day Parade.[2]

Discography

[edit]
  • Lord Burgess' Calypso Serenaders - Folk Songs of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad (Stinson SLP 62, 1954)
  • Ballad For Bimshire. A New Musical of Barbados (London AM 48002, 1963)
  • Lord Burgess and his Sun Islanders - Calypso Go Go (Buddah BDS 5005, 1967)
  • Lord Burgess Rides Again (Cherry Lane CLR-1-1984, 1984)
  • Island in the Sun: The Songs of Irving Burgie (Angel 52222, 1996)
  • The Father Of Modern Calypso (VLT-15170, 2003)[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nesmith, Nathaniel (December 1, 2019). "Irving Burgie, Who Wrote Calypso Hits for Harry Belafonte, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Irving Burgie", Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 December 2019
  3. ^ a b c d e f Biography by Bruce Eder, Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "Olympics 2012: The secrets behind national anthems". Bbc.co.uk. August 2, 2012.
  5. ^ Mason, Peter (2 December 2019). "Irving Burgie obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Jon Kalish, "Irving Burgie, Songwriter Who Helped Bring Calypso To America, Dies At 95", NPR, November 30, 2019.
  7. ^ "Irving Burgie dies". Barbados Today. November 30, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  8. ^ McShane, Larry (November 30, 2019). "Songwriter Irving Burgie, the prolific man behind 'Day-O' and other calypso hits, dead at age 95". New York Daily News. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  9. ^ Irving Burgie – The Father of Modern Calypso album page, Valley Entertainment.
[edit]
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