(Sonny) later


GEORGE   GODDARD

DATE OF BIRTH: April 28, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH: Newtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad
EDUCATION: ......
STEELBAND:
  • Alexander's Ragtime Band
  • Trinidad & Tobago National Steelband
  • SPECIALTY:
  • Player
  • Administrator
  • CAREER:                             Goddard's involvement in steelbands began in 1941 when he joined the world's first steelband, Alexander's Ragtime Band, as a masquerader at the age of 17. In 1950, he was elected Vice-Secretary of Trinidad and Tobago's first steelbands' union: the Steelbands Association. He went on to serve as the president of the three organizations that represened panmen through the years: (1957-1959) the Steelbands Association; (1962-1971) the National Association of Trinidad and Tobago Steelbandsmen (NATTS); and (1978-1979) Pan Trinbago. He also served as an executive member of the Carnival Development Committee (CDC) and, at one time, served as the Cultural Adviser to the Prime Minister. Under Goddard's leadership, the Trinidad & Tobago National Steelband was established in 1962 with at least one member from each steelband. As the head of NATTS, he was instumental in organizing the first Steelband Panorama in 1963 and was able to get the CDC to award $1,000 to the winner. When the Trinidad Music Association eliminated the Steelband Class at the Biennial Music Festival after ten years, he led NATTS to the first Trinidad and Tobago Steelbands Music Festival in 1964. He went on to lead the National Steelband on overseas tours: International Youth Conference, Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA (1964); Commonwealth Arts Festival, UK (1965); Inaugural Festival of Negro Arts, Dakar, Senegal, Africa (1966); and Expo '67, Montreal, Canada (1967). In 1968, he was awarded a contract for two years by the government of Trinidad & Tobago as an Adviser on the Improvement of Steelband Music. In 1979, 80 member steelbands of Pan Trinbago voted to boycott the Panorama competition to protest the low appearance fees and, on June 5, 1979, Goddard resigned from Pan Trinbago. His 40 years of involvement with steelbands was later documented in his book "Forty Years in the Steelbands 1939 to 1979' which was published in 1991.
    AWARD:
  • Trinidad & Tobago Humming Bird Medal Gold (posthumously for his Contribution to the Development of the Steelband)
  • DIED: January 18, 1988
    Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit