Honoree for 2009
THE PEOPLE'S CALYPSONIAN
In the sizzling 1970's Anthony Emrold Phillp, sobriquet Brother Valentino, was dubbed "the people's calypsonian" for expressing his political and social awareness through some thought-provoking compositions.
The most popular of these is almost certainly "Life is a Stage," but Val has a sound repertoire of songs including, but certainly not limited to, "Stay Up Zimbabwe," "Mad On A Soca Fad," "Barking Dogs," "Trinidad Is Nice," and "Time And Space."
"Life Is A Stage" was composed some 37 years ago, and is still an encore-getter whenever and wherever he performs it today.
"When that song was composed and sung, a lot of young people were not born as yet," he states. "The generation now is getting hooked on it, and that tells you about the substance, the depth of the calypso. When you do a piece of work like that you feel so satisfied with yourself. I have to thank the Master for that inspiration, because I am not responsible for that."
Born in Grenada in "a little place called Cherry Hill" on July 7, 1941, Emrold came to Trinidad when he was five years old. The day was a Carnival Monday - the day he saw his first steelband, when members of Cairo Steelband were assembling in Belle Vue, St James, the district where he was to live most of his growing years.
His home was always filled with music (calypso music), he recalls, since both his parents were true lovers of the art form. He grew up listening to songs by Beginner, Lord Cristo and Lord Kitchener, the latter being his father's favourite bard.
Before entering the calypso arena, Emrold tried his hands at jobs such as printing, electrician, mechanic and tailoring.
"It was the tailor shop that made up my mind for me," he said. "Because tailoring is a sit-down sort of lazy job, you were listening to Rediffusion whole day. Calypso music used to be playing and you would be singing along and getting the feel of things. It was right there in that tailor shop that I seriously considered singing calypso as a career option."
After quitting the tailoring job, Emrold worked for a while at Bottlers Limited on Long Circular Road, where he met a supervisor named Henri Koo who was inspirational in helping him make his career choice. His neighbour and good friend Leroy Paul (who became Conqueror) also worked there as well, and together they started composing and singing calypsoes. Ironically, Conqueror's big hit "Women and Money" was written by Emrold.
Emrold made his first appearance at the Big Bamboo Calypso Tent on Park Street, Port-of-Spain sometime in "either 1961 or 1962." He also did gigs at Frenchie's Arcade on Frederick Street for the princely sum of $2.50 per week. He was known then as Robin, but another calypsonian "stole" the name.
In December 1965 he auditioned for the Calypso Caravan, headed then by Kitchener. He was selected on the cast, but did not have a sobriquet, so Kitchener gave him the name "Valentino."
After more than 40 years in the business, Valentino earned his first official title in 2005 when he was crowned Veterans Calypso Monarch at the National Women's Action Committe's (NWAC) inaugural competition held at City Hall, Knox Street, Port-of-Spain.
"My wife Peggy is my right hand, my left hand, my eyeball and my inspiration," he confesses. "My wife really and truly is one of the reasons that I have been so successful and even to the point of stability. You must have somebody to keep you stable when you are singing Calypso, because all eyes are on you. Peggy has brought a lot of stability to my life. Her support was one hundred and ten percent. She is always with me; always by my side. If I have to go to a show and I have to reach for a certain time, she will nag me and make sure that I reach on time and that everything is in order. In addition, she bore me a beautiful son, Ade."