{"id":629898,"date":"2026-09-28T09:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/629898\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T09:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:30:10","slug":"calypso-icon-slinger-francisco-dubbed-the-mighty-sparrow-dies-at-91-his-family-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/629898\/","title":{"rendered":"Calypso icon Slinger Francisco, dubbed \u2018The Mighty Sparrow,\u2019 dies at 91, his family says"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad \u2014 Calypso music lost one of its most emblematic voices Sunday with the death of Slinger Francisco, who was known on stage as the Mighty Sparrow and dubbed the \u201cCalypso King of the World.\u201d He was 91.<\/p>\n

Francisco, who got his breakthrough in calypso music with his 1956 hit song \u201cJean and Dinah,\u201d died peacefully surrounded by his family in New York, his family said in a statement. His death came after a \u201cbrief illness,\u201d the statement said without disclosing any other details.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was an institution in the entertainment industry, well admired for his skill and finesse as a singer, songwriter and mentor; beloved by many,\u201d Francisco\u2019s family said.<\/p>\n

\"Image:Throughout his career, Francisco\u2019s goal was to advance the calypso art form.Michael Ochs Archives \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Mighty Sparrow will be remembered as \u201ca defining voice of our culture, a master storyteller and a towering figure whose music helped carry calypso from Trinidad and Tobago to the world,\u201d the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians\u2019 Organisation said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Born in the coastal town of Grand Roy, Grenada, in July 1935, Francisco was just a toddler when he migrated with his parents to Trinidad and Tobago in 1937.<\/p>\n

Trinidad and Tobago is the birthplace of calypso music, and it\u2019s where the name and persona of the Mighty Sparrow would later emerge to produce a list of hit songs in the genre: Both of Them, Congo Man, Mr. Walker, The Lizard and many more.<\/p>\n

\u201cBirdie,\u201d as Francisco was also affectionately known, recorded hundreds of songs in a career that spanned six decades. He performed in several countries around the world, including at famous venues such as New York City\u2019s Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, Francisco\u2019s goal was to advance the calypso art form, according to Trinidadian cultural historian and author Dr. Rudolph Ottley.<\/p>\n

\"TheFrancisco performs at Damrosch Park at the Lincoln Center in New York in 2006.Jack Vartoogian \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mighty Sparrow was the supreme entertainer, a cultural revolutionary and one of the world\u2019s greatest Calypsonians,\u201d Dr. Ottley told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Trinidad and Tobago has honored the composer and performer with national awards, and in 1987 the University of the West Indies conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters on Francisco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad \u2014 Calypso music lost one of its most emblematic voices Sunday with the death of Slinger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46],"class_list":["post-629898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}