By Nelson A. King
NEW YORK, Sept 28, CMC – The Caribbean Diaspora in North America has been paying glowing tributes to the legendary Calypso King of the World, the Mighty Sparrow, who died on Sunday at the age 91.
In a statement, his family said that Sparrow – the Grenadian-born and Trinidad and Tobago iconic calypso ambassador – died peacefully in Queens, New York, surrounded by loved ones, after a brief illness.
The Trinidadian-born president of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean American Center of New York, Jean P. Alexander, said her non-profit organization “mourns the passing and celebrates the remarkable life of Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow.
“Sparrow’s story began in Grenada, took root in Trinidad, and travelled wherever Caribbean people made a home,” said Alexander, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizer of the largest Caribbean Carnival parade in North America.
“From singing in the church choir to his breakthrough with ‘Jean and Dinah’, he brought wit, joy, and fearless storytelling to calypso.
“His voice became part of the soundtrack of our live. We will always cherish the honor of presenting the Calypso King of the World’s 70th birthday celebration at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.
“That gathering remains a treasured part of our center’s history and a reminder of how his music brought our community together. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. Thank you, Mighty Sparrow, for the songs, the laughter, and the stories you gave us. Your legacy will live on in every generation that sings along,” Alexander said.
WIADCA said briefly: “Our legend has transitioned. Dr. Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow, may your light shine for eternity.”
James Richmond, a Guyanese-born Seventh day Adventist Church pastor in Brooklyn, offered “our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of a beloved calypso icon whose music, talent and mentorship touched countless lives. We also take comfort in knowing that, before his passing, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and was baptized in the Seventh-day Adventist Christian faith.
“And we remember, too, the many gifted musicians whose work helped bring his songs to life,” Pastor Richmond added.
Another Caribbean pastor in Brooklyn, Louis Straker, Jr., the son of former St. Vincent and the Grenadines deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, Sir Louis Straker, noted that: “Today, our Caribbean community mourns the passing of one of its greatest musical giants, the legendary Slinger Francisco, Calypso King of the World, also known as, the Mighty Sparrow.
“Born in Grand Roy, Grenada, and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Sparrow became far more than a calypsonian,” said the pastor of the Reflections Church on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn, whose mother is Trinidadian.
“He became a voice of the Caribbean and a true cultural ambassador whose songs captured the joys, struggles, politics, humor and spirit of our people. Although he will be greatly missed, his musical genius and legacy will continue to live on,” Pastor Straker csaod.
The Grenada’s Consul General to Canada, Gerry Hopkin, said Sparrow was “certainly one of the Caribbean’s finest cultural ambassadors.”
Hopkin said Sparrow was “a distinguished social commentator, a story-teller, a historian, an activist, an artiste, a philosopher and a diplomat.
“Only a few names of other Caribbean personalities of comparable caliber, who have been recognized officially or unofficially as cultural ambassadors in the arts, come to mind, whenever I reflect on the achievements of Dr. Slinger Francisco,” he said.
“Names, such as Sidney Poitier, Bob Marley, Arrow, Lord Kitchener, Harry Belafonte, Louise Bennett, Derrick Walcott, Machel Montano, Billy Ocean, Black Wizard, and Ajamu, are some of the few who come to mind.
“Objectively speaking, it has been an enlightening honour knowing and working with Dr. Francisco,” Hopkin said, adding “this was especially so when we collaborated in our endorsement during the 2007 US Presidential Campaign of then Senator Barack Obama.”
He recalled that it was then that Sparrow composed and recorded the first musical endorsement of the former US President “by any celebrity of note, in any genre.
“The song is ‘Barack the Magnificent’, which I arranged to have Sparrow deliver on August 22, 2007 at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, the location of Obama’s first Brooklyn campaign rally.
”Grenada gave him to the world, his Grenadian parents nurtured him in T&T (Trinidad and Tobago), and he has gone on to proudly represent our heritage wherever he goes. His voluminous works of music are living catalogs, channels for the inter-generational transfer of wisdom, adages and stories of old,” he added.
Former perennial Grenada Calypso Monarch-turned-gospel artiste, King Ajamu, whose real name is Edson Mitchell, also paid tribute to Sparrow.
“Words cannot describe the heaviness of my heart this day, but am comforted by the fact that you have made it well with our Lord Jesus,” said King Ajamu, currently residing in Virginia.
“I wish you were able to hear the finished work on my cover of the Slave honoring you, but I guess as you said to me you didn’t have to confirm what I did because you know I would do a good job. “It is well with your soul, uncle,” he added. “Now, you sing to the angels.”
The family said plans for a public celebration of Sparrow’s life are being arranged.
CMC/nk/ir/2026