When he won the 2015 National Calypso Monarch title on Carnival Sunday night, Chucky (Roderick Gordon) joined an elite group of only five calypsonians to have registered back-to-back wins in the competition since its establishment in 1939.
They are Atilla the Hun (Raymond Quevedo), Striker (Percy Oblington), Duke (Kelvin Pope), Sparrow (Dr Slinger Francisco) and Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool).
The first to do so was Atilla The Hun. He won the contest in 1946 singing Daily Mail Report, and successfully defended the title in 1947 with Million Dollar Jail. Eleven years later, in 1958, Striker won with Don't Blame the PNM and Can't Find A Job To Suit Me, and repeated the win in 1959 with Ban The Hula Hoop and Comparison.
Then came Sparrow to lift the titles in 1962 with Model Nation and Sparrow Come Back Home and 1963's Dan Is The Man In The Van and Kennedy. Duke established a record of four straight wins in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971. Sparrow returned to winner's row with consecutive victories in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
Chalkdust claimed his first title in 1976 with Three Blind Mice and Ah Put On Mih Guns Again and retained it in 1977 with Juba Dubai and Shango Vision. Twenty-seven years later he repeated the double, winning in 2004 and 2005.
Ten years later it was Chucky, who won the title last year with Wey Yuh Think and Wedding of De Century, and repeated this year with The Rose and I Believe.
The young, two-time National Calypso Monarch participated in a number of junior calypso competitions, including the National Junior Calypso Monarch and NACC Pathfinders competitions while at secondary school concluding his A-level study.
In 2004, he placed fourth in the National Junior Calypso Monarch, won the Pathfinders competition and a number of other smaller competitions. Also, in that year, Chucky took part in the Schools Parang Festival, where he won the Best Male Vocalist title.
In 2005, he entered the senior calypso realm, where he succeeded in qualifying for the semifinals of the National Calypso Monarch. In this same year he was a Young King finalist, won the Tunapuna and Laventille Calypso Monarch competitions, and placed fourth in the Stars of Tomorrow competition. Heavily involved in culture, Chucky took part in the Prime Minister's Best Village Competition in 2005 with the Barataria Community Council, where he won the Best Male Vocalist title and the Best All-round Performer award in the folk theatre category.
The calypso fraternity began to take special notice of Chucky in 2006. He proved that he was here to stay, making history by becoming the second youngest person, at age 19, to become a National Calypso Monarch finalist. He also placed fifth in the Young Kings competition, fourth in the Stars of Tomorrow competition, and won the Tunapuna Monarch title for a second consecutive time.
Chucky also made his first venture into the soca arena with his debut hit ,See You, which allowed him to place third in the International Groovy Soca Monarch competition and gave him the opportunity to perform in a number of parties and fetes.
As a result of such an outstanding season, Chucky was nominated as a Best New Male Artiste at the International Soca Awards in New York.
