Trevor Winston Lockhart (14 July 1952 – 18 July 2021), known professionally as Winston Soso, was a soca singer from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He was known among musicians as the "Rolls-Royce of Calypso".[1]
Biography
editTrevor Winston Lockhart was born on 14 July 1952.[2] He was raised in Kingstown between Paul's Avenue and Sion Hill. As a child, Lockhart was inspired by the calypso performances during Carnival,[3] especially of Becket and Scorcher.[4] He also became involved in sports, spending five years as goalkeeper for the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national football team from 1972 through 1976.[2]
Lockhart began performing at the Lyric Theatre in Kingstown in the 1960's under the name "Winston Soso", mainly soul music and R&B. He joined the band Clymax in 1969. In 1996, he became the first Soca Monarch. He was known as the "Rolls-Royce of Calypso"; according to Bernard "Bonni" Browne, the leader of Clymax, Soso received this title from radio host Randy D.[5]
In 2014, Soso was named a cultural ambassador for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The SVG Diaspora Committee in New York City gave him a Culture Award at their 2017 Diaspora Heritage Awards.[6] He suffered from poor health in later years, with a minor stroke in 2020 and kidney problems.[2]
Soso died on 18 July 2021 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, shortly after his 69th birthday.[2] His family received condolences from fellow artists in Saint Vincent as well as the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO).[7] The Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) posted a tribute to Soso on its Facebook page.[8]
Discography
editReferences
edit- ^ Noel, L. (2021-07-19). "Vincentian Cultural Icon, Winston Soso has passed away". NBC SVG. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ a b c d King, Nelson A. (20 July 2021). "Leading artistes pay tribute to 'The Rolls Royce of Calypso', Winston Soso". Caribbean Life. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ King, Luzette (12 July 2012). "This is Sos – Winston Soso". The Vincentian. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ Bowman, Wayne (18 July 2021). "Calypso's Rolls Royce dies". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ King, Nelson A. (30 July 2021). "Clymax band leader remembers Soso". thevincentian.com. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
- ^ Dowrich-Phillips, Laura (18 July 2021). "Winston Soso, the Rolls Royce of Calypso, has died | Loop St. Lucia". Loop News. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ Doughty, Melissa (2021-07-19). "St Vincent calypso icon Winston Soso died at 69". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ "Vincentian calypso icon Winston Soso has passed". searchlight.vc. 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ^ Too Much Corruption (LP). Straker's Record World Ltd. GS2229.
- ^ War on Crime (LP). Straker's Record World Ltd. 1982. GS2236.
- ^ Just Soso (CD). J.W. Records Productions Inc. 1997.