Mighty Terror
| Mighty Terror | |
|---|---|
Portrait on sleeve of "Double Gold" LP
|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fitzgerald Cornelius Henry |
| Born | January 13, 1921 |
| Origin | Arouca, Trinidad |
| Died | March 14, 2007 (aged 86) |
| Genres | Calypso |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, Trumpeter, Bassist, Drummer |
| Instruments |
Trumpet Bass drums vocals |
| Years active | 1947–2007 |
| Labels |
SaGomes Christopher Dial Melodisc Nixa Pye |
| Associated acts |
Lord Kitchener Bert McLean's Trio |
Fitzgerald Henry (13 January 1921 – 14 March 2007), better known as the Mighty Terror, was a Trinidadian calypsonian.
He was born Fitzgerald Cornelius Henry in Anguilla Village, Arouca, Trinidad. he studied trumpet as a child and also sang in church and school choirs. His career started in 1947, and following the success of his "Negroes Know Thyself" he debuted at the Calypso Palace Tent in 1948. He joined the Young Brigade Tent in 1949, where he continued playing until leaving Trinidad in 1953. In 1950 he his first 78 release was "Changing of the Indian Song".
During his time in Trinidad he recorded first for Sa Gomes (1951), for Christopher (1952) and took part in the Dial sessions in 1953. He was one of the first major calypsonians to have records released on Emil Shallit's UK-based Melodisc Records, in 1950.
In 1953, he took a job as a fireman on a ship and arrived in England later that year, going first to London. In his own words:
Popular or not, the taxi driver had not heard of Lord Kitchener so took him to a West Indian club where he was given the phone number of guitarist Fitzroy Coleman. Terror moved in with the Colemans and within a month he was regularly singing in the clubs and had won a contract to sing a jingle for the BBC.
He continued recording for Melodisc in 1954 (scoring a hit with "Chinese Children", and following it up with other releases for the label, including "The Emperor of Africa," "Chopping Wood" and "Chinee Children Call Me Daddy") and took part in the Nixa sessions in 1958 (these tracks being released by Pye Records). With the significant commercial success of 1957's "Life in London" and "I'll Walk a Million Miles", he was named "Calypso King of Great Britain" at a charity concert organised by Claudia Jones after attacks on the West London black community, which was a prelude to the now famous Notting Hill Carnival.
The time between 1958 and 1964 was spent touring, first with Lord Kitchener and later with the Bert McLean Trio.
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