Tributes paid to legendary T&T musician, Roy Cape

Glowing tributes were paid on Monday of this week to the life and work of one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most outstanding musicians, Roy Cape.

The occasion was a memorial service held for Dr Cape, who received an honorary degree from The University of the West Indies in 2011 for his voluminous accomplishments. Famed for his Roy Cape All Stars band, Cape was a towering figure in the world of music, calypso music in particular. He provided musical backing for a number of the most outstanding artistes in that country including Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow, Chalkdust, Deyse Plummer and Black Stalin, and his band did many recordings of its own.

The tributes included live performances from another legend, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, the Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, and Destra Garcia with a haunting delivery of Whitney Houton’s “I’ll always love you”. In an interview after the service, Soca superstar and current T&T Calypso Monarch, Machel Montano said that the best way to memorialize Dr Cape was to support his Foundation for underprivileged children.

From orphanage to musical stardom Machel’s statement brings into focus Dr Cape’s humble background. Like many other outstanding Trinidadians, he had Grenadian roots and mixed parentage, his father being a white American who left T&T after his birth. His mother died during his childhood, and he was sent to an orphanage in Belmont to be raised and educated. It was at the Belmont Orphanage that he was exposed to music, and it remained a lifetime preoccupation of his.

He never forgot his humble roots and it led him to set up the Foundation to help underprivileged youngsters develop their musical talents.

We join the people of T&T in paying tribute to this giant of the Caribbean musical world.