Chalkdust

• Name — Chalkdust • Birth Name — Hollis Urban Lester Liverpool • Born — 6 March 1940 • Birthplace — Chaguaramas, Crown colony of Trinidad and Tobago • Other Names — Chalkie • Discipline — History • Main Interests — Ethnomusicology • Notable Works — Rituals of Power and Rebellion • Workplaces — University of the Virgin Islands • Alma Mater — University of Michigan (Ph.D., 1993) • Thesis Title — Rituals of Power and Rebellion: The Carnival Tradition in Trinidad and Tobago • Thesis Url — http: mirlyn-classic.lib.umich.edu/F/?func=direct&doc_number=003924009&local_base=MIU01_PUB • Thesis Year — 1993 • Known for — Study of carnival and calypso in Trinidad and Tobago • Awards — Prince Claus award

section An error has been perpetuated in which Chalkdust is listed in many fora as having sung ‘Three Blind Mice’ as one of his compositions in 1976, the first year he won the calypso monarch title. In fact, his other calypso was ‘No Smut For Me’. That competition was broadcast ‘live’ on Trinidad and Tobago Television. The judges score sheets at the National Archives on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, record him as having sung – and being judged on – 'No Smut For Me' and 'Ah Put On Me Guns Again'; and Chalkdust himself has confirmed this since. In a piece in the series, ‘Interview With An Icon’, published in the online magazine, ‘Paradise Pulse’, which was done prior to him winning his ninth title in 2017, Chalkdust was asked the following: “You have been the Calypso Monarch of Trinidad and Tobago on eight occasions, a record which you share with the Mighty Sparrow. Which win was your most memorable and why?” He replied: “Tough question. All my wins mean the world to me. If you were to push bamboo under my nails, I would answer that it was my first win [in 1976] when I sang the songs ‘Ah Put On Meh Guns Again’ and ‘Why Smut’ [listed on the record as, ‘No Smut For Me’]. That put me on the map and people sat up and took me seriously.” This gives the lie to those listings that record him as having sung ‘Three Blind Mice’ that year. Similarly, in 1977, his offerings were,'Shango Vision' and 'My Way Of Protest'. 'Juba Dubai' was not sung at the 1977 calypso monarch competition.