The Father of Modern Calypso features the music of Irving Burgie a.k.a Lord Burgess. The native New Yorker served in the U.S. Army in World War II and during his service learned to play guitar. After college he began performing on the 1950s folk circuit (along with Tom Paxton, Dave van Ronk, The Kingston Trio and others). After being introduced to Harry Belafonte by a RCA Records executive, eight of Burgie's songs were recorded for Belefonte's groundbreaking 1956 album Calypso - the first LP to sell one million copies.
