Music of Guyana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guyana is a South American country whose musical traditions are a mix of Indian, African, European and native elements. Important American, Caribbean, Brazilian and other Latin musical styles are popular. Popular Guyanese performers include Terry Gajraj, Mark Holder, Eddy Grant, Dave Martins & the Tradewinds, Aubrey Cummings and Nicky Porter. The Guyana Music Festival has proven an influential part of the scene.
[edit] Popular music
The first half of the 20th century saw a number of popular Guyanese dance bands, including the BG Musicians Band, Harry Banks Orchestra, Al Seales & His Washboard Swing Orchestra, Bert Rogers & His Aristocrats Dance Orchestra and Mr. Gouveia's Orchestra. By the 1960s, these big bands with prominent horns, woodwinds and other instruments became less popular in favor of a wave of string bands. These included Bumble & the Saints, Sid & the Slickers, Bing Serrao & the Ramblers, Combo 7, Rhythmaires, Dominators, Curtis MG's, Rudy & the Roosters, Yoruba Singers, Little Jones, Mischievous Guys, Cannonballs, and the Telstars.
Bumble & the Saints, led by Bumble Wharton, was perhaps the most influential group in this shift. By the end of the decade [which one?], new instruments like box guitars (introduced by Bing Serrao & the Ramblers) had taken over, while heavy guitar work by the Rhythmaires and Combo 7's complex drum solos proved influential.
Other bands of the 1960s and 1970s were Cannonballs, Curtis MG's, Dominators, Little Jones, Mischievous Guys, Rhythmaires, Rudy and the Roosters, Sid and the Slickers, Telstars, and the Yoruba Singers.
[edit] Calypso
Calypso is especially popular in Guyana, which was imported from Trinidad. Calypso is satirical and lyrically-oriented, often played during celebrations like Mashramani, while chutney is played and performed at private events, usually with lyrics in English and/or Hindi.
Indian music arrived with immigrants from South Asia. This originally included folk music played with dhantal, tabla, sitar, harmonium and dholak, later including tassa drums. Music was mostly Hindu songs called bhajans, as well as filmi. The tan singing style is unique to the Indian community in Guyana and Suriname.
Popular Indo-Caribbean music began with the Surinamese star Ramdew Chaitoe in the late 1950s with his album, The Star Melodies of Ramdew Chaitoe, and accelerated with that country's Dropati and, later, Trinidad's Sundar Popo. It was not until the late 1970s, however, that Nisha Benjamin, the first major Indo-Guyanese performer, began releasing hits like "O'Maninga". She often addressed political issues, like the oppression of the Indian community by Forbes Burnham's People's National Congress.
Songs of Guyana
Song of Guyana's Children The teacup river,
[edit] References
- Manuel, Peter (2006). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-463-7.
- Manuel, Peter. East Indian Music in the West Indies: Tan-singing, Chutney, and the Making of Indo-Caribbean Culture. Temple University Press, 2000. ISBN 1-56639-763-4.
