Commission's Report - Music

Atilla The Hun 1892-1962 Born Raymond Quevedo Was One Of The Greatest Calypsonians Of All Times. Atilla The Hun Started His Musical Career As A Chantwell Lead Singer For A Carnival Masquerade Band In Port Of Spain Trinidad. By The 1920s He Was Singing In Calypso Tents And Soon Became A Very Popular Performer. Along With The Roaring Lion And Other Calypsonians He Helped To Establish The Victory Tent And To Introduce Such Innovations As Calypso Duets And Calypso Dramas. An Early Drama Dealt With The Then Contentious Issue Of Divorce In Trinidad. In 1934 Atilla And Lion Traveled To New York To Record For The American Record Company. While There They Met Rudy Vallee And Appeared On His Weekly Radio Broadcast. The Historic Broadcast Reached All The Way To Trinidad. Though Atilla Composed Calypsos On A Wide Range Of Topics His Specialty Was Politics Particularly The Experience Of Working People In A Colonial Society. He Was Admired For Both His Eloquence And Keen Observation Of Detail. Among His Many Well-Known Songs Are "Graf Zeppelin" About The German Dirigible's Visit To Trinidad "Roosevelt In Trinidad" About The President's Visit "Treasury Scandal" On Missing Funds And "The Strike" Concerning Labor Protests . While Continuing To Perform As A Calypsonian Atilla Was Elected To The Port Of Spain City Council In 1946 And Later Became The Deputy Mayor. In 1950 He Was Elected To Trinidad's Legislative Council. Atilla Also Helped To Publish Booklets Of Calypso Lyrics. After His Death His Writings On Calypso Were Compiled In A Book Titled Atilla's Kaiso A Short History Of Trinidad Calypso 1983 . Bio Nabbed From Calypso World. read less