Editing Lord Melody (section)

==Career==
Melody was born '''Fitzroy Alexander''' at [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago|San Fernando]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], raised at an orphanage in [[Port of Spain]], and met Alwyn Roberts (soon to become better known as [[Lord Kitchener (calypsonian)|Lord Kitchener]]) after moving to [[Arima]] while still in his teens.<ref name="Thompson" /> Roberts took him under his wing and they returned to Port of Spain, where Lord Kitchener became the leading calypso star, with Melody one of his main challengers.<ref name="Thompson" /> His popularity increased locally when Lord Kitchener emigrated to England in 1947.<ref name="Thompson" /> Melody's career started in the 1940s with performances in [[calypso tent]]s, and he continued to perform in this and other venues in the Caribbean until the 1960s.<ref name="calypso">{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20041020012400/http://www.calypsoworld.org/noflash/artists-01.htm]}} </ref> His early successes included "Berlin on a Donkey", mocking [[Adolf Hitler]], and "Boo Boo Man" first recorded in 1955 and released on several record labels.<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Lord-Melody-Caribbean-All-Stars-Band-The-Bo-Bo-Man-Saxophone-Limbo/release/4459202 "Lord Melody / Caribbean All Stars Band"] at Discogs.</ref> His rendition of  "Second Spring" won him the [[Calypso Monarch]] title in 1954 and he signed with [[Cook Records]] in 1956.<ref name="Thompson" /><ref name="calypso"/>

He was one of the six vocalists chosen to perform for [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]] when she visited Trinidad in 1956.<ref name="bestof">[https://web.archive.org/web/20020717004937/http://www.bestoftrinidad.com/calypso/melody.html] </ref>

His first known album was ''Calypso Fiesta - Limbo In Trinidad'', which was released in 1956 on Vitadisc records and contained eight songs, including his popular "Mama Look A Boo Boo". Another album, ''Calypso Carnival 1958'', was released on Balisier records in 1958. It was a split release - the first side contained six Lord Melody songs (some of which did not appear elsewhere), and the second side comprised instrumental tracks by Cyril Diaz (whose band usually backed Melody on his recordings).{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

Cook Records released several live tracks featuring him on their albums ''Jump Up Carnival'' and ''Calypso Kings And Pink Gin'' in 1957, which led to him recording a full album for the label the next year.

His first album on Cook Records, ''Lord Melody Sings Calypso'', was released in 1958, with a second album, ''Again!'' released the following year.<ref name="Thompson" />

The rivalry between Melody and [[Mighty Sparrow]] was a feature of the calypsos "Ten to One is Murder" and "Cowboy Sparrow".<ref name="Thompson" /> Melody's third album, ''Calypso Through The Looking Glass'', was released in 1960 and featured the infamous "Belmont Jackass", in which Melody berates Sparrow's wife. Melody's song "Wau, Wau" (more commonly known as "[[Shame and Scandal]]") was popular in 1962.<ref name="calypso"/> The song was a version of a song originally recorded by Sir Lancelot in 1943 with new verses written by Melody. This subsequently became the most widely known version of the song and Melody's version was covered by [[The Wailers]] with [[Peter Tosh]] on lead vocal.

[[Harry Belafonte]] recorded Lord Melody's compositions "[[Mama Look at Bubu|Boo Boo Man]]" (retitled "Mama Look at Bubu" and "Mama Look at Boo Boo") and "Sweetheart from Venezuela" (aka "Juanita"), having a top 20 hit in the US with the former in 1957.<ref name="Thompson" /><ref name="amg"/> "Mama Look a Boo Boo" was also recorded by [[Robert Mitchum]] and others.<ref name="calypso"/> Several singles became favourites with Britain's West Indian community in the late 1950s.<ref name="Thompson" /> In the first half of the 1960s, his popularity waned, but he again found success in 1965 when his "Melody Mas" won the [[Panorama (music competition)|Panorama]] at the Carnival.<ref name="Thompson" /> He released three albums in 1962, but despite recording a number of singles and compilation exclusives over the rest of the 1960s, did not record another album until 1974's ''Salt And Pepper''.

Melody moved to [[New York City|New York]]  he toured with Belafonte in the 1960s.<ref name="Thompson" /> He was diagnosed with [[cancer]] in the early 1970s and the illness restricted his career, although he continued to release albums throughout the 1970s. In this decade he gradually moved away from calypso and instead embraced the emerging soca and reggae styles. These recordings are distinguished by the synths and drum machines of the era and a more reverb-based production sound, as well as the aging quality of Melody's voice at the time. Around 1979 he became a [[Rastafarian]], and released the ''I Man'' album, a reggae-tinged album on which he spoke on the subject, the singles "Brown Sugar" and "Rastaman Be Careful" becoming local hits in the same era.<ref name="Thompson" /><ref name="amg"/> In 1982 he made another album, the [[soca music|soca]]-styled ''Lola''.<ref name="Thompson" />

Melody's health continued to deteriorate, and he died from cancer in September 1988, in Port of Spain.<ref name="bestof"/>