Irving Burgie
Lord Burgess | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Irving Louis Burgie |
| Born | July 28, 1924 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 2019 (aged 95) Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk music, calypso |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924[1] – November 29, 2019), better known as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter who composed thirty four 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.[2] Burgie also wrote the lyrics of the National Anthem of Barbados.[3] To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
Biography
Burgie was born in Brooklyn, New York. 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.[2][4] 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 learnt as a child or collected in visits to the area.[2]
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,[2] a mutual friend, William Attaway, suggested that Burgie write songs for Belafonte.[4] Burgie and Attaway wrote a version of the lyrics for "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 composed eight of the songs on Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso, including "Day-O" (on which the writing was co-credited to Burgie as Lord Burgess, Belafonte and Attaway), and "Jamaica Farewell". Burgie later described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people in a colonized life doing the most grueling work", saying "lot of my work is based on songs and ditties that I've heard in the Caribbean".[4] The song "Jamaica Farewell" was later recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Carly Simon and others.
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.[4] He wrote the music and lyrics for the 1963 Off-Broadway musical Ballad for Bimshire and also co-wrote the book with Loften Mitchell.[2] 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".[4]
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 Best of Irving Burgie was released, followed by The Father of Modern Calypso in 2003.[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 age 95, from heart failure, at his home in Queens.[5][6][4]
Discography
- Lord Burgess' Calypso Serenaders - Folk Songs Of Haiti, Jamaica And Trinidad (Stinson SLP 62, 1954)
- Island in the Sun: The Songs of Irving Burgie (Angel 52222, 1996)
- The Father Of Modern Calypso (VLT-15170, 2003)[7]
References
- ^ The Music Sack Accessed October 28, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Biography by Bruce Eder, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 December 2019
- ^ Olympics 2012: The secrets behind national anthems
- ^ a b c d e f Jon Kalish, "Irving Burgie, Songwriter Who Helped Bring Calypso To America, Dies At 95", NPR, November 30, 2019
- ^ "Irving Burgie dies". Barbados Today. November 30, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Irving Burgie – The Father of Modern Calypso album page, Valley Entertainment.
External links
- Irving Burgie at the Internet Off Broadway Database
- Irving Burgie discography at Discogs
- Irving Burgie discography at Discogs as Irving Burgess
- Irving Burgie discography at Discogs as Irving Burgie
