When the love affair ends
Published:Wednesday | July 28, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Dennie Quill, Contributor
THE MIGHTY Sparrow is a legend. The Grenadian-born entertainer who was christened Slinger Francisco is the unrivaled King of Calypso. A big man with a powerful sound! So I can imagine the pain felt by the audience at a recent show in his adopted Trinidad and Tobago when they watched the King of Calypso being wheeled onstage to perform from the confines of a chair. I must confess that I got a little teary eyed when I read the story.
Growing up in rural Jamaica, the Calypso Corner on Radio Jamaica's Good Morning Man Show mostly featured the Mighty Sparrow belting out favourites such as "Federation", "Jean and Dinah" "Melda". Sparrow was able to bridge the cultural and generation chasm back then, as old and young would tune in at exactly five minutes to 7 0'clock to hear the latest calypso tune while they carry out their early morning chores. As an adult, when I came to see him live, I got to better appreciate his often ribald humour and found that this was a performer who exuded genuine likability.
Now 75 years old and stricken with diabetes, Sparrow's best days are behind him. Music lovers attend concerts because they expect to experience something that is as pleasurably, visually, as it is musically - hence the costumes and on-stage antics. From all accounts, Sparrow's voice was as robust as it has ever been, but to see him confined to a chair was a huge distraction.
Stoke the fires of nostalgia
I believe that many patrons who went to see Sparrow in Trinidad recently, were there to stoke the fires of nostalgia with their adored entertainer, instead they were terribly upset at a performance best forgotten. It was reported that many in the audience were disturbed and saddened to witness this virtual dethroning of a king. Many reportedly left the venue, and others cried openly at the spectacle before their eyes. In the end, they just wanted him off the stage to preserve what little dignity he could salvage from the situation. The fact that patrons gave him a standing ovation indicates how much he is still revered.
Sparrow, who now lives in New York, is said to have a number of other shows lined up. I am begging those who love him best not to encourage him to do this. I don't know if he needs the money, but there is no need to belittle the man.
We see this happening all the time. Age be damned, seems to be the mantra of various singers, sportsmen and celebrities who continue to carry on full speed ahead disregarding the graying, the sagging, the wrinkles and the sore muscles. Patrons buy their tickets to these concerts expecting to hear the sounds they have grown up loving three or four decades ago, instead they are usually treated to a spectacle - outdated dance moves, awful costumes and fading vocals. We often fool ourselves by trying to prove that we still got it.
The fact is, we can take little comfort from the often repeated line that "age is nothing but a number". Yes the Tom Jones, Rod Stewarts and Paul McCartneys of this world can still rock a concert venue, but they are the exception.
My grandmother used to say it is always better to walk away than be pushed. Like a couple who are in love, one should recognise when the fire is gone and call it quits.