BARBADOS – Famed composer and musician, Irving Burgie, who was formally inducted into the Song Writers’ Hall of Fame this year, presented copies of his autobiography, ‘Day-O’ to Chief Education Officer, Wendy Griffith-Watson at the Ministry of Education on Friday, July 6.
The book is named after one of his more popular releases, and last year marked the 50th anniversary of that song.
Mr. Burgie, who dominated the billboard charts with his Caribbean inspired songs in the 1950s and 1960s, explained that his book focuses on his career, particularly when he was between the ages of 18 and 28.
He said that he would have been considered under-privileged when he was growing up and demonstrated in his autobiography ‘what it takes to succeed”. “There are a lot of things that transpired in my life that have projected my views…I want to inspire the youth, black youth in particular…and I am working at spreading the knowledge of black progress, especially in the West Indies,” he stressed.
Irving Burgie, cover of his autobiography, ‘Day-O’
‘The Father of modern Calypso’, as he has been dubbed over the years, said that the auto-biography was dedicated to his wife, Vivia, who helped him to write the book.
The Chief Education Officer said she was delighted to have received the text from the author himself, adding that the book would ‘generate an interest in an era that has long past’. The copies presented will be distributed to secondary school libraries as well as the Audio Visual Aids Department, Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, University of the West Indies and the National Public Library.
Irving Burgie was born in New York to a Barbadian mother and an American father and was raised in a West Indian community in Brooklyn. He has written songs for well known artistes, including Harry Belafonte. Among his other classic calypso tunes are ‘Jamaica Farewell’ and ‘Island in the Sun’. Copies of “Day-O are available at book stores islandwide.
