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 | This article has an unclear citation style. (November 2021) |
The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during a Caribbean Carnival. Originating as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the term has been applied to other Caribbean carnivals. There it was and is still viewed as a musical genre.
In Trinidad and Tobago the Road March title has been officially given out every year since 1932 (with the exception of the years affected by World War II when Carnival did not officially take place). Popular Unofficial Road Marches have also been recognized in T&T from since 1834 after slavery was abolished. Prior to World War II, T&T Road Marches were referred to as "Leggos" or "Breakaways" by the general population but were rebranded by the Carnival authorities as the Road March from 1946. Scoring is based upon a register-and-count system devised by a Carnival committee before the start of the parade.
After a German pop song "Happy Wanderer" by the Obernkirchen Children's Choir won the Trinidad & Tobago Road March title in 1955 the rules were amended to restrict songs eligible to be in the road march competition to only songs vocalised by local Trinidad & Tobago artistes. The Road March title is among the most prestigious in Trinidad Carnival. The most such titles have gone to the late Lord Kitchener with eleven wins, ahead of Super Blue with ten wins, Machel Montano also with ten wins and the Mighty Sparrow with eight wins. In the mid-1970s, a woman officially broke through in the male dominated Calypso arena. Calypso Rose was the first female to officially win the Trinidad and Tobago Road March competition in 1977 with her song "Give More Tempo". The following year 1978 with "Come Leh We Jam" in addition to winning the Road March title again, Calypso Rose also won the "Calypso King" competition, the first time a woman had received that award. As a result, the "Calypso King" competition was officially renamed the "Calypso Monarch" competition to take into account that females also take part and have won titles.
First Calypso recordings were made in 1912 so Trinidad & Tobago Road Marches prior to 1912 were not recorded that year but may have been recorded years later after recording technology became available to Calypso pioneers of the 1910s to 1930s. In 2019 Skinny Fabulous of St. Vincent & the Grenadines created history by becoming the second foreign artiste (after the German Obernkirchen Children's Choir) and the very first foreign soca artiste to win the prestigious Trinidad & Tobago Road March title with a song called "Famalay" which was vocalised by Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano and Bunji Garllin.
Trinidad and Tobago
Below are over 100 T&T Road Marches starting from this year going back to the 1800s when most calypsos were sung in Patios.
| Year | Performer | Song | Album / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mical Teja | ”DNA” | |
| 2023 | Bunji Garlin | “Hard Fete" | |
| 2022 | None due to COVID-19 Pandemic (Restricted Carnival activities[1]) | ||
| 2021 | Farmer Nappy | “Backyard Jam" (Online Road March) | No Carnival.[2] |
| 2020 | Neil “Iwer” George & Kes Dieffenthaller | “Stage Gone Bad" (also won ISM) | 2nd & 1st T&T RM wins |
| 2019 | Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin | "Famalay" | G.O.A.T / 1st, 10th & 1st T&T RM wins |
| 2018 | Machel Montano & Superblue | "Soca Kingdom" | 9th & 10th T&T RM wins |
| 2017 | Ultimate Rejects featuring MX Prime | "Full Extreme" (also won Panorama) | 1st T&T RM win |
| 2016 | Machel Montano | "Waiting On the Stage" | Monk Evolution |
| 2015 | Machel Montano | "Like Ah Boss" (also won ISM) | Monk Monte |
| 2014 | Machel Montano | "Ministry Of Road" (MOR) (also won ISM) | Happiest Man Alive |
| 2013 | Superblue | "Fantastic Friday" (also won ISM) | Soca Gold 2013 |
| 2012 | Machel Montano | "Pump Yuh Flag" (PYF) (also won ISM) | Double M |
| 2011 | Machel Montano | "Advantage" (also won ISM) | The Return |
| 2010 | JW & Blaze | "Palance" (also won ISM) | Monkey Steak Play Soca |
| 2009 | Fay-Ann Lyons | "Meet Super Blue" (also won ISM) | |
| 2008 | Fay-Ann Lyons | "Get On" | Best Of Best Soca 2008 |
| 2007 | Machel Montano | "Jumbie" | Book of Angels |
| 2006 | Machel Montano & Patrice Roberts | "Band Of De Year" (BODY) | B.O.D.Y. |
| 2005 | Shurwayne Winchester | "Dead or Alive" | |
| 2004 | Shurwayne Winchester | "The Band Coming" | Press Play |
| 2003 | Fay-Ann Lyons | "Display" | Soca Gold 2003 (3rd female winner) |
| 2002 | Naya George | "Trinidad" | Soca Gold 2002 |
| 2001 | Shadow aka Mighty Shadow | "Stranger" (also won ISM) | Shadow - Just For You |
| 2000 | Superblue / Iwer George (TIE) | "Pump Up" / "Carnival Come Back Again" | Soca Matrix / Iwer & Family |
| 1999 | Sanell Dempster | "De River" | Blue Ventures 1999 (2nd female winner) |
| 1998 | Wayne Rodriguez | "Footsteps" | Charge |
| 1997 | Machel Montano | "Big Truck" | Heavy Duty (1st Road March win) |
| 1996 | Nigel Lewis | "Moving" | Performed live with his brother Marvin Lewis |
| 1995 | Superblue | "Signal For Lara" | Happy Carnival |
| 1994 | Preacher | "Jump and Wave" | Rattlesnake Wine |
| 1993 | Super Blue | "Bacchanal Time" (also won SM) | Bacchanal Time |
| 1992 | Super Blue | "Jab Jab" (Wine On Something) | In The Power |
| 1991 | Super Blue (formerly Blue Boy) | "Get Something and Wave" | 10th Anniversary |
| 1990 | Tambu | "No No We Eh Going Home" | The Cry |
| 1989 | Tambu | "Free Up" | The Journey |
| 1988 | Tambu | "This Party Is It" | Culture |
| 1987 | Mighty Duke | "Is Thunder" | Yester, Today, Tomorrow |
| 1986 | David Rudder | "Bahia Gyal" | The Hammer |
| 1985 | Crazy | "Soucouyant" | Caribbean Hits Makers |
| 1984 | Sparrow | "Don't Back Back" | King Of The World |
| 1983 | Blue Boy | "Rebecca" (also won Panorama) | Superman |
| 1982 | Penguin | "Deputy" | Life Is A Lollipop |
| 1981 | Blue Boy | "Ethel" | Soca In Shaolin Temple |
| 1980 | Blue Boy | "Soca Baptist" (3rd soca to win RM) | Blueboy's breakout song (1st Road March win) |
| 1979 | Poser | "Ah Tell She" (Smoke Ah Watty) | 2nd soca to win RM |
| 1978 | Calypso Rose | "Come Leh We Jam" (Soca Jam) | Her Majesty Calypso Rose (1st soca song to win RM) |
| 1977 | Calypso Rose | "Give More Tempo" (uptempo calypso) | Action Is Tight (1st official female winner) |
| 1976 | Kitchener | "Flag Woman" (soca style bassline) | Kitch: Home For Carnival (11th & final Road March win) |
| 1975 | Kitchener | "Tribute to Spree" (also won Panorama) | Carnival Fever In Kitch |
| 1974 | Shadow | "Bass Man" | Bass Man LP |
| 1973 | Kitchener | "Rain-O-Rama" (also won Panorama) | We Walk 100 Miles |
| 1972 | Sparrow | "Drunk and Disorderly" | Hotter Than Ever |
| 1971 | Kitchener | "Mas' At Madison" | Curfew Time With Kitch |
| 1970 | Kitchener | "Margie" (also won Panorama) | Sock It To Me Kitch |
| 1969 | Sparrow | "Sa Sa Yea" | 16 Carnival Hits (Ice) |
| 1968 | Kitchener | "Miss Tourist" | Play Mas' With Kitch |
| 1967 | Kitchener | "Sixty Seven" (also won Panorama) | 16 Carnival Hits (Ice) |
| 1966 | Sparrow | "Obeah Wedding" (also won Panorama) | Calypso Genius Vol.1 |
| 1965 | Kitchener | "My Pussin" | Mr. Kitch (RCA Victor) |
| 1964 | Kitchener | "Mama This Is Mas" (also won Panorama) | Lord Kitchener (RCA) |
| 1963 | Kitchener | "The Road" | Klassic Kitchener Vol.2 |
| 1962 | Lord Blakie | "Maria" | Trinidad All Time Calypso |
| 1961 | Sparrow | "Royal Jail" | Sparrow The Conqueror |
| 1960 | Sparrow | "Mae Mae" | Calypso King Of Trinidad |
| 1959 | Lord Caruso | "Run the Gunslingers" | Ten For The Road |
| 1958 | Sparrow | "Pay As You Earn" | 16 Carnival Hits (Ice) |
| 1957 | Lord Christo / Nelson Cato | "Chicken Chest" / "Doctor Nelson" | Two competitions |
| 1956 | Sparrow | "Jean and Dinah" (Yankee's Gone) | Sparrow's breakout song (1st Road March win) |
| 1955 | Obernkirchen Children's Choir | "Happy Wanderer" (Valderi, Valdera!) | German singalong pop song |
| 1954 | Lord Blakie | "Steel Band Clash" | |
| 1953 | Vivian Comma / Spit Fire | "Madeline Oye" / "Bow Wow Wow" | Two competitions |
| 1952 | Spit Fire | "Post, Post Another Letter For Thelma" | |
| 1951 | Mighty Terror | "Tiny Davis Blow" | |
| 1950 | Mighty Killer | "In A Calabash" | |
| 1949 | Lord Wonder | "Ramgoat Baptism" | |
| 1948 | Lord Melody | "Canaan Barrow" | |
| 1947 | King Pharaoh | "Portuguese Dance" (Vishki Vashki Voo) | |