𝗠𝗔𝗠𝗔, 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗔 𝗕𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗢𝗢: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗣𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔 — 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬?
GRACE NOTES IN CONTEXT MAMA, LOOK A BOO BOO: WHEN CALYPSO WENT TO AMERICA WHO GOT THE CREDIT — AND WHO GOT THE MONEY? A Grace Notes reflection on Lord Melody, Harry Belafonte, Calypso, memory, ownership and the journey of a Trinidad song onto the American stage. VIDEO: Harry Belafonte and Danny Kaye perform “Mama Look A Boo Boo” on The Danny Kaye Show . The available video identifies the television performance as September 15, 1965. Belafonte's hit recording of the song dates to 1957. I was born in Trinidad in 1956, so I will leave the definitive history of Lord Melody, Diego Martin, Blue Basin and all the stories that have travelled through our Trinbago oral tradition to the historians and cultural archivists who can cement the truths. But I know what I remember. I remember “Mama Look a Boo Boo.” I remember it as part of the sound of growing up on a small Caribbean island, hearing Calypso played on our radio in its original, raw,...
