BLACK   STALIN REAL NAME: Leroy Calliste DATE OF BIRTH: September 24, 1941 PLACE OF BIRTH: San Fernando, Trinidad EDUCATION: San Fernando Boys' RC School CAREER:                                   Stalin began singing calypsoes in the late 1950s, writing his own music and lyrics. In 1959, he started singing with the Southern Brigade Calypso Tent in San Fernando, and joined the Original Young Brigade Tent in Port-of-Spain in 1964. In 1967, he joined Lord Kitchener's Calypso Revue Tent. In 1979, he moved over to the Mighty Shadow's King of the Wizards Tent and recorded his first album, The Caribbean Man. He went on to win five National Calypso Crowns: 1979 ("Caribbean Unity" and "Play One"); 1985 ("Ism Schism" and "Wait Dorothy"); 1987 ("Mr. Pan Maker" and "Bun Dem"); 1991 ("Look on The Bright Side" and "Black Man Feeling to Party"); and 1995 ("In Time" and "Tribute to Sundar Popo"). In 1999, he won the title of Calypso King of the World with the calypsoes "Black Man Feeling to Party" and "Wine Boy." He was known for his witty, biting, social, and political commentary but his mobility was curtailed after he suffered a stroke in 2014. His other calypsoes include: 1959 - Why I Want to Be A Calypsonian 1961 - Tribute to Kennedy 1967 - Beat My Tune; Culture First 1969 - Reply to Miss Tourist; The Message of Martin Luther King 1972 - New Portrait of Trinidad; She Ain't 'Fraid 1974 - Pan Gone 1980 - When the Well Run Dry; Money; Breakdown Party 1981 - Vampire Year; Run De Head 1982 - Nothing Come Easy; Man Is Boo 2000 - Wine Dhanraj Wine; Courtney; Recognition; Sufferers; Trinbago My Love; Smelling It; Save Him; Fly Down 2001 - They Don't Care About We; Stand Up for Something; Ode to Skiffle Bunch Other - We Could Make It if We Try AWARDS: 1987 - Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird Medal Silver (for Culture) 2007 - Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame 2008 - Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt), University of the West Indies DIED: December 28, 2022, at his home in San Fernando, Trinidad Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit