Forty years ago, Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis, best known by her sobriquet Calypso Rose, won her first ever Road March title and took the country by storm with her song Gimme More Tempo.”
Yesterday, around 12.35 am, Rose, “the Calypso Queen of the World”, rolled back the years when she belted out the tune before a packed Grand Stand at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.
The crowd, which included Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who were seated at that point, were brought to their feet when Rose began her rendition of the song that has stood the test of time.
Young and old were seen dancing in the aisles when Rose sang the line “we going down San Fernando, down there have plenty tempo”.
Earlier this month, Rose won the World Album of the Year award at the Victoire de la Musique ceremony in France.
The award is considered the French equivalent of a Grammy award.
And on Carnival Friday night, Rose was carded to have her first full-length performance in this country since copping the coveted award.
Ella Andall and Devon Matthews (who yesterday placed third in the International Soca Monarch) brought down the power around 8.30 pm to kick off the show titled “SoCalypso”.
Timothy Watkins, also known as the “sweet Soca man Baron”, performed second.
Edghill Thomas aka MX Prime and the Ultimate Rejects then performed their popular hit song Full Extreme and the crowd went wild.
But still there was more to come.
Former calypso monarch and road march winner David Rudder decided to leave the big stage and come into the crowd to perform.
The audience lapped it up with many seizing the opportunity to touch the legend as he performed hits such as High Mas and Trini to the Bone.
Barbadian songstress Alison Hinds and Grammy award-winner Angela Hunt performed one after the other as anticipation kept building in the Grand Stand.
Then at 10.45 pm, Rose took the stage.
Wearing a red pants suit Rose was escorted to the stage by a male companion.
Her voice was strong as ever as she sang songs from her latest album Far from Home as well as her old hits like No madame.
Around 11.45, Rose was presented with an award on stage and the crowd applauded.
And at 12.20 am, five-time Soca Monarch winner Machel Montano took the stage.
Montano, who Rose referred to as her son, performed their collaboration Leave Me Alone.
Rose even thrilled the audience at one point by playing the guitar as she sang her 1978 Calypso Monarch winning song I Thank Thee.
Before ending the show with another rendition of Leave Me Alone, the latest of the 800 calypsoes she has written, Rose sang Fire, Fire.