Leroy “Black Stalin” Calliste, a five-time National Calypso Monarch whose musical career spanned more than five decades before it ended abruptly when he suffered a stroke in September 2014, has died at age 81.
The veteran bard passed away at his San Fernando home at 9.45 am yesterday.
Hailed across the region as the quintessential Caribbean man, Black Stalin’s vast body of work ranged from hard-hitting social commentaries on colonialism, oppression and discrimination, to celebratory party songs.
His calypsoes, with strong message on social upliftment, dignity and the importance of political awareness resonated with the masses, and he regularly pleaded the cause of the poor and working class. He was strong advocate of Rastafarianism whose stage presence, radiating an energy and style rooted in Afrocentricity, were the basis of his deep connection with his legions of fans.
Born on September 24, 1941, in San Fernando, one of four children for George and Elcina Calliste, Black Stalin grew up on Coffee Street and attended San Fernando Boys’ RC School.
It is a little-known fact that long before he became a calypsonian, Black Stalin was a limbo dancer. He embarked on his calypso career in 1959, performing at an event in Ste Madeleine but did not make his tent debut until 1962, when he joined the cast of the Southern Brigade.
He credited fellow calypsonian, the late Blakie, with giving him his sobriquet.
Black Stalin’s first major success came in 1967, when he joined Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Revue, a tent which was based at the Princes Building in Port-of-Spain at the time. That year, he made it to the finals of the Calypso King competition, as it was then known.
In that post-1970 era, widely regarded as T&T’s Cultural Renaissance, he steadily gained recognition, along with Brother Valentino and others for musical commentaries inspired by the Black Power revolution.
But Black Stalin’s skills were not limited to singing. He also did a few turns as an MC, including at the Calypso Revue. He also had a stint in tent management in 1982, when he joined with Lord Superior and Brother Valentino to open Iere Kaiso Movement, based at CWU Hall on Henry Street, Port-of-Spain.
However, his breakthrough year was 1979, when he won his first Calypso Monarch title with Caribbean Man and Play One. By then, he had joined the cast of Kingdom of the Wizards, a tent run by the Mighty Shadow, and had released his first album, To The Caribbean Man.
Black Stalin was crowned Calypso Monarch four more times, in 1985, 1987, 1991 and 1995.
His other memorable, competition-winning calypsoes include Ism Schism, Wait Dorothy, Mr Panmaker, Bun Dem, Look on the Bright Side, Black man Feelin’ to Party and Tribute to Sundar Popo.
For his sterling contributions to T&T’s musical landscape, Black Stalin was awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) in 1987 and on October 31, 2008, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate—Doctor of Letters (DLitt)—by The University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
Last year, the City of San Fernando honoured him by re-naming a section of Lord Street. Unfortunately, ill health prevented him from being physically present for the ceremonial unveiling of Dr Leroy Calliste Street.
Since September 22, 2014, when he was struck down by an ischaemic stroke, Black Stalin had been mostly confined to his San Fernando home. The stroke affected his speech and movement on the right side of his body.
That life-changing event, two days before his 73rd birthday, occurred just hours after what turned out to be his final performance. On returning home after performing at a fund raiser in aid of the St Andrew’s Anglican Church building fund, Black Stalin was admitted to the San Fernando General Hospital after experiencing severe back pains. The stroke permanently affected his mobility.
Black Stalin is survived by his wife, Patsy Calliste, their children and grandchildren.
