Wilmoth Houdini
Encyclopedia
Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks (November 25, 1895 in Port of Spain
, Trinidad and Tobago
– August 6, 1977, New York, New York), best known as Wilmoth Houdini,
was a prominent calypsonian
.
Fredrick Wilmoth Hendricks , - his given name, Edgar Leon Sinclair, - the name on his US passport, and King Houdini. His 1939 composition "He Had It Coming" was a hit for Louis Jordan
and Ella Fitzgerald
under the new title "Stone Cold Dead in the Market." The song stayed on the top of the R&B charts for five weeks, and reached #7 on the pop charts. Gaining a good deal of recognition, Houdini wasted no time in organizing high profile calypso festivals and concerts around New York, quickly becoming a respected member of the Caribbean communities there.
After moving to New York, (as one of the earliest émigrés) he was often the object of derision by the calypsonians still in Trinidad, who claimed that he was stealing their ideas and capitalizing on them in the USA. This can be seen in numerous calypsos of the early to mid 30s, from Roaring Lion and Atilla the Hun in particular, who also recorded in New York at the time. This led to Houdini's 1934 rebuttal, "Declaration of War." Towards the beginning of the 1950s he played regularly at the Caribbean Club on Seventh Avenue, New York, with his only real rival, The Duke of Iron
,also a native of Trinidad.
Houdini died on August 6, 1977, in New York City, where he had lived for the majority of his life.
("Bucovina") and Eleftheria Arvanitaki
("Den milo ghia mia nychta ego").
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
– August 6, 1977, New York, New York), best known as Wilmoth Houdini,
was a prominent calypsonian
Calypsonian
A calypsonian , originally known as the chantwell is a musician, from the Anglophone Caribbean, who sings songs called calypso. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition...
.
Life
In 1916 he started his career in earnest when he began working with the African Millionaires, a large carnival group consisting of around twenty five members. He arrived in New York sometime around 1927, after working on cargo ships where he travelled extensively. Not long after, he began cutting records with local bands for Decca records, notably Gerald Clark's Night Owls. He released well over a hundred different 78s between 1928 and 1940, also under the names ofFredrick Wilmoth Hendricks , - his given name, Edgar Leon Sinclair, - the name on his US passport, and King Houdini. His 1939 composition "He Had It Coming" was a hit for Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
under the new title "Stone Cold Dead in the Market." The song stayed on the top of the R&B charts for five weeks, and reached #7 on the pop charts. Gaining a good deal of recognition, Houdini wasted no time in organizing high profile calypso festivals and concerts around New York, quickly becoming a respected member of the Caribbean communities there.
After moving to New York, (as one of the earliest émigrés) he was often the object of derision by the calypsonians still in Trinidad, who claimed that he was stealing their ideas and capitalizing on them in the USA. This can be seen in numerous calypsos of the early to mid 30s, from Roaring Lion and Atilla the Hun in particular, who also recorded in New York at the time. This led to Houdini's 1934 rebuttal, "Declaration of War." Towards the beginning of the 1950s he played regularly at the Caribbean Club on Seventh Avenue, New York, with his only real rival, The Duke of Iron
The Duke of Iron
The Duke of Iron was a calypsonian, nightclub and concert entertainer, and recording artist from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was renowned for his bawdy humor, crisp diction, and confident vocal mannerisms...
,also a native of Trinidad.
Houdini died on August 6, 1977, in New York City, where he had lived for the majority of his life.
Influence
His song "Uncle Joe", although melodically not original, had a huge influence upon the American psyche, influencing Dizzy Gilespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz, Hazmat Modine, Bob Brozman, and C.W.Stoneking, to name but a few. He has inspired a newer generation of artists around the world, for example with his recording "Black But Sweet" covered by Mighty Dub Kats ("Son Of Wilmot"), Sabres of Paradise ("Wilmot"), ShantelShantel
Shantel, real name Stefan Hantel , is a German DJ and producer of Bukovina German Romanian descent, known for his work with gypsy brass orchestras, DJing and remixing traditional Balkan music with electronic beats...
("Bucovina") and Eleftheria Arvanitaki
Eleftheria Arvanitaki
Eleftheria Arvanitaki is a Greek folk singer. She originates from the island of Icaria...
("Den milo ghia mia nychta ego").