Lord Invader

Lord Invader (* 1915 as Rupert Westmore Grant in San Fernando, Trinidad; ; † 15. October 1961 in New York) was a prominent calypsonian with a very distinctive, gravelly voice.

Invader became active in calypso in the mid-1930s. He wrote many calypsos; his most famous, "Rum and Coca-Cola", was plagiarised by Morey Amsterdam and became a hit for the Andrews Sisters. Invader travelled to New York and sued, eventually winning compensation, although the final settlement allowed Amsterdam to retain his copyright.

He is often credited with writing "Zombie Jamboree", although the song was actually written by Lord Intruder (Winston O'Conner). The confusion probably stems from the introduction of the version by the Kingston Trio, which mentions "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators".

The following disks give a good idea of his work:

* "Calypso in New York" (Smithsonian Folkways 40454) is a collection of Invader's recordings across his whole career.
* "Calypso at Midnight" and "Calypso After Midnight" come from a live recording organized by Alan Lomax in New York in 1946.
* "Calypso War", "Kings of Calypso", and "Trojan Calypso" boxed set all feature the same set of songs recorded in the United Kingdom in the 1950s.
* Folkways recordings also have a number of CDs that Invader recorded in the late 1950s in New York.

In 1961, Invader released an atypical LP, "West Indian Folk Songs for Children" (Caedmon Records). [" [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938828-1,00.html Alice in Audioland] ," Time Magazine, 1 December 1961]

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