141 • Antiguan kiteboarding pioneer Andre Phillip September/October 2016 Photo by Roddy Grimes-Graeme January/February <strong>2017</strong> FREE take-home copy 143 • Young fancy sailor January/February <strong>2017</strong> Photo by Abigail Hadeed November/December 2016 FREE take-home copy 142 • Calypso Rose November/December 2016 Photo by Richard Holder, courtesy Stonetree Records Our oldest cover subject in twenty-five years? That would be Linda McArtha Sandy-Lewis, the indefatigable Calypso Rose, who was seventy-six when she fronted our November/December issue last year. And in this case, age isn’t just a number, or a bit of trivia <strong>—</strong> it’s evidence of the longevity of one of the most extraordinary careers in <strong>Caribbean</strong> music, dating back to the 1950s. When the Tobago-born calypsonian started her career as a teenager, calypso was still a macho genre. That she ascended to the heights of the artform is tribute to her skill as a singer and composer, her warmth and sincerity on stage, her wicked lyrics and playful performance style. Audiences adored her, but it wasn’t until 1978 <strong>—</strong> more than two decades into her career <strong>—</strong> that she won calypso’s highest honour. They had to literally rename the Calypso King title for her sake. The same energy, talent, and dedication that earned her that groundbreaking accolade are also responsible for the remarkable resurgence in popularity Rose has experienced in her eighth decade. Her latest album, Far from Home, was a surprise hit of summer 2016 in Europe, winning her thousands of new fans and a growing number of international awards, as she keeps to a touring schedule many younger musicians would envy. And her tune “Leave Me Alone” <strong>—</strong> featuring a guest appearance by Machel Montano <strong>—</strong> was yet another hit on the road at Carnival <strong>2017</strong>. The credits Jeremy Taylor, editor, publisher, consulting editor, 1992–2012 • Joanne Mendes, sales and admin, 1992–present • Russell Halfhide, designer, 1992–2007 • Geraldine Flower, sales, 1992–2011 • Simone Aché, sales, 1994–1998 • Reneé West, sales, 1994–1999 • Brendan de Caires, assistant editor, 1994–1998 • Kevon Webster, design and layout, 1995–present • Skye Hernandez, assistant editor and managing editor, 1997–2000 • Beverly Renwick, sales, 1997–2000 • Hazel Mansing, admin, 1998–present • Donna Benny, managing editor, 2000–2003 • Brigitte Bento-Espinet, assistant editor, 2000 • Stacy Lalbeharry, editorial assistant, 2000–2005 • Helen Shair-Singh, sales, 2000–2012 • Denise Chin, sales, 2001–2013, 2015–present • Tracy-Ann Gill, editorial assistant, 2001–2003 • Dylan Kerrigan, staff writer, 2002–2005 • Nicholas Laughlin, editor, 2003–2006, 2012–present • Tracy Assing, assistant editor, 2005–2008 • Sabrina Vailloo, editorial assistant, 2005–2007 • Laura Dowrich, assistant editor, 2006–2009 • Mirissa De Four, editorial assistant, 2006–2011 • Caroline Taylor, online editor, 2007–present • Judy Raymond, editor, 2007–2012 • Jacqui Smith, production, 2008–present • Aisha Provoteaux, design and layout, 2009–2010 • Samantha Rochard, sales, 2009 • Halcyon Salazar, general manager, 2011– present • Bridget van Dongen, design and layout, 2011–present • Marissa Rodriguez, admin assistant, 2012–2014 • Yuri Chin Choy, sales, 2012–present • Desiree Seebaran, assistant editor, 2013 • Karen Washington, sales, 2013–2015 • Cindy Lavia, editorial intern, 2014–2016 • Shelly-Ann Inniss, intern and editorial assistant, 2014–present A quarter-century’s worth of reading <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Beat</strong> has always been free for <strong>Caribbean</strong> Airlines (and, before that, BWIA) passengers to take home <strong>—</strong> and many of you have done just that, collecting each issue as it appears on planes. A full set of all 144 magazines published to date takes up about two and a half feet of shelf space (and weighs almost a hundred pounds <strong>—</strong> yes, we checked). Readers hold on to them because many of the articles, profiles, and interviews are worth revisiting, even decades later. Researchers make reference to the magazine and teachers use it in classrooms. But if you haven’t been a <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Beat</strong> reader and collector since 1992 <strong>—</strong> or if you don’t have two and a half feet of shelf space to spare <strong>—</strong> you can still access our rather vast archive via our website. The magazine first went online circa 1998. Back then, in the days when no one knew as yet what the World Wide Web would turn out to be, only a handful of articles from each issue were posted online, and some HTML hand-coding was involved. It’s a lot simpler these days. Not only can you read the full contents of each new issue online, you can also search all the way back to issue number one in a matter of seconds <strong>—</strong> if, say, your heart is set on finding every single reference to Machel Montano we’ve ever published. Now, the archive is a work in progress <strong>—</strong> we’re still digitising some of the earlier issues. Even so, there are close to 2,500 articles already available, which makes the <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Beat</strong> website one of the most extensive free online archives of <strong>Caribbean</strong> culture. Even for our editorial staff, exploring this archive is always an adventure of discovery and re-discovery. Find it all at caribbean-beat.com. 64 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM
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