Swain & the Mighty Makers
Swain & the Mighty Makers - Calypsoian
Genres: calypso, Bahamas
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About Swain & the Mighty Makers
Wendell Armbrister aka Swain, of Abaco, Bahamas grew up in Nassau and did not find his way back to Freeport to reside until 1974. After a visit with his sister for two weeks in 1974, he decided to stay. This marked the beginning of a long and successful musical career in Freeport, known as The Bahamas’ second capital. Swain joined the group "Skinner & Company" that played the local clubs in Freeport, playing drums. Shortly eafter, Skinner decided to leave the group and Swain took over. This brought about the birth of "Swain & The Citations". Swain had never received any formal training on the drum set but says that it came naturally for him. After leaving West End, "The Back Room" would host Swain's group for about one year after which they appeared at the "Safari Lounge". Swain, by this time had already developed quite a reputation for his brand of "Bush" (calypso) music. "We were well known for calypso music and golden oldies songs. They tried to get us to change but we wouldn't do that." Swain attributes his love and appreciation for calypso music to "The Mighty Sparrow", the unequalled Caribbean calypsonian from Trinidad. “In fact,” he mused, “one of the first recordings that I did entitled Sandra, and people thought that I composed the song. It really was a Sparrow song.” (Armbrister, 2004) Still, Swain’s version of the song was a hit in The Bahamas, and to this day, many think it is an original work. The golden oldies were also a big part of Swain’s repertoire. This also stemmed from his past as part of "The Mighty Makers" in Nassau before moving to Freeport. As one of the group’s vocalists, he often sang songs recorded by Percy Sledge, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and other popular American singers from the golden oldies era.
Taken from Last.fm
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