Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Carnival Road March

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The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during Carnival. Originating as part of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the term has been applied to other Caribbean carnivals.

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In Trinidad and Tobago the Road March title has been given out in every year since 1932 (with the exception of years affected by World War II when Carnival did not take place). Scoring is based upon a rank-and-points system devised by a Carnival committee before the start of the parade. The Road March title is among the most prestigious in Trinidad Carnival. The most such titles have gone to the Mighty Sparrow and Machel Montano with eight wins, Super Blue, with nine wins, and the late Lord Kitchener, with ten. In the mid-1970s, women entered the calypso men' s oriented arena. Calypso Rose was the first female to win the Trinidad Road March competition in 1977 with her song "Gimme More Tempo". The following year with "Come Leh We Jam" she won the "Calypso King " competition, the first time a woman had received the award. The competition's title was changed to Calypso Monarch in her honour.

St. Lucia

Invader has won the Road March in St. Lucia seven times. In a period from 1970-1972 and again from 1974-1976, Road March winners were imported from Trinidad and Tobago.

Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands

The Jam Band, formerly Eddie and the Movements has won the Road March Title a record 21 times.

References

Carnival Road March Wikipedia