Young Tiger
George Browne (4 May 1920 – 23 March 2007), better known as the Young Tiger, was a Trinidadian calypso musician.
Biography
Born Edric Browne in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where his childhood was imbued with the African traditions of Shango and Spiritual Baptist Shouting, he assumed the name George E. Browne in homage to his mentor and family friend, Richard E. Braithwaite,[1] whose library introduced him to works of black history and activism.
Browne joined a Norwegian tanker at the age of 20 and, after a brief stay in Australia, signed off in Scotland in 1941. After befriending other expatriate Trinidadians in Glasgow he relocated to London and began to earn his living as a musician. In 1943 he found luck with a surprise hit, "Christmas Calypso." In 1947–48 he co-founded with Bermudian Ken Gordon (1927–2013, uncle of newsreader Moira Stuart) the Three Just Men group[2] and toured in Europe and North Africa with the trio the following year.[1]
During the same time, Browne worked with a minstrel show headlining
Utilizing the calypsonian tradition of social commentary, while playing with a rhumba band at the posh Orchid Room, he put together an extemporary few bars in honour of guest
He inherited the name Young Tiger from the
Subsequently, embracing
Abandoning calypso soon after for jazz, Browne collaborated with longtime friend and mentor
He returned to the UK in the late 1980s, living in retirement in
Browne died on 23 March 2007, at the age of 82, with obituaries ranging from West Indies music magazines to mainstream press such as Mojo and Rolling Stone.[citation needed]
See also
- Mighty Sparrow
- Roaring Lion
- Growling Tiger
- Lord Kitchener
- Lord Invader
- Lord Mouse and the Kalypso Katz
- Attila the Hun
References
- ^ a b c Val Wilmer, "George Browne" (obituary), The Guardian, 7 April 2007.
- ^ "Dr E.F. Gordon’s Son Ken Gordon Dies At 86", Bernews, 7 November 2013.
- ^ a b Jason Ankeny, "Young Tiger" Answers.com.
- ^ Ray Funk, "London’s first Caribbean Carnival?", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 23 June 2015.
External links
- Val Wilmer, Obituary of Young Tiger, The Guardian, 7 April 2007.
- Charlie Gillett, "George Browne aka Young Tiger", The Sound of the World. 29 March 2007. Reprints obituary by Jon Lusk for The Independent, 10 April 2007.
- Overview of Young Tiger by Jason Ankeny.