Trinidad’s Road March Royalty: Honoring Carnival’s Champions from 1834 to Today

Original Image @Devi Nath @Vogue.com

The calypsonian once declared, “The road is made to walk on Carnival Day!” In this case, it was Let’s Play, Ah Mas—and the result was the Road March Song of the Year.

This post is a reprint from the blog Santiwah (now replaced by Sokah2Soca). Some of the dates referenced here reflect an earlier period in the history of the Official Road March Competition.

Before 1961, the bands referred to the songs they played most frequently as "Leggos" (Break Away).

In 1962, the competition became officially entrenched in Carnival culture and was given the name “Road March,” which remains the title today.

The real names of the calypsonians featured in this listing were sourced from TUCO and added here for full disclosure. Special thanks to TUCO for their research and dedication in documenting the official names of the singers—shared here as a public service.

To be clear: before 1961, there was no official Road March competition. The first sanctioned competition took place in 1962. The distinction is simple: songs before 1962 were called Leggos, while from 1962 onward the competition was branded as Road March. With this official recognition, resources were put in place to record the number of plays and determine the official winner—the most popular song on the road, celebrated by the masqueraders.

Just to refresh your memory:

• 1834–1931: No official competition existed; instead, records were kept of the song most played during Carnival.
• 1932–1961: The official competition was introduced under the name “Leggo” (meaning let go/free up yourself).
• 1962 onward: The competition adopted the title “Road March,” which remains the recognized name today.

Kaiso Dial presents an “IsDePanInMe” YouTube video at the end of this listing for your enjoyment. Sit back and enjoy a selection of these winning calypsos!

We have updated the post to reflect "The Early Years," dating from 1834 to 1931. The information was sourced from Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Road_March

The Early Years 

1800
1834—Congo Barra—Point De Six Ans (No Six Years)
1835—1896—No Information (pending)
1897—Chantwell—J'ouvert Band
1898—No Information (pending)
1899—Chantwell—Prisonie Levez

1900's
1900 to 1905—No Information (pending)
1906—Sophie Mataloney aka Jamette Matador—Pauline
1907—Lionel Belasco—L'Année Passée (last year); (melody used by Lord Invader in 1943 hit 'Rum and Coca Cola')

1910's
1911—Lionel Belasco—Poem One
1915—1918 World War 1—No Carnival

1916—No Information

1917—No Information

1918—No Information
1919—No Information

1920's
1920—Atilla The Hun—Bigman Sweetman
1921—Johnny Walker—Go Way Gal
1922—Attila The Hun—Toddy
1923—King Houdini—Sly Mongoose
1924—(Name of Singer pending)—Mavis Powder

1925—King Houdini—Fire Brigade Water The Road
1926—Sam Manning—Camilla
1927—Atilla The Hun—Song pending (information needed)
1928—Mentor—Mr. Huggins
1929—No Information

1930's
1930—Inveigler—Captain Cipriani
1931—King Houdini—Mr. Huggins (remake)

First Official Leggos/Breakaway on Record: 1932 

1932—Norman Spann aka King Radio—Tiger Tom Play Tiger Cat 

1933—Norman Spann, aka King Radio—Wash Pan Wash

1934—Cletus Ali aka Dougla—After Johnny Drink Me Rum

1935—Rafael Cairi Llama De Leon, aka Roaring Lion—Dingolay Oy

1936—Rafael Cairi Llama De Leon, aka Roaring Lion—Advantage Could Never Done

1937—Rafael Cairi Llama De Leon, aka Roaring Lion—Netty Netty

1938—Rafael Cairi Llama De Leon, aka Roaring Lion—No Norah Darling

1939—Norman Spann, aka King Radio—Mathilda

1940's
1940—Egbert Moore aka Beginner—Run Yuh Run

1941—Rafael Cairi Llama De Leon, aka Roaring Lion—Whoopsin, Whoopsin

1942—No Carnival

1943—No Carnival

1944—No Carnival

1945—No Carnival

1946—Aldwyn Roberts (Lord Kitchener)—Jump In The Line 

1947—Andrew Bernard (King Pharaoh)—Portuguese Dance aka Pharoh

1948—Fitzroy Alexander, aka Lord Melody (previously known as   Lord Livingstone)—Canaan Barrow
 (Canaan Barrow as per the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago Tel # (868) 623-2874)

*The 1948 winner is now in dispute! Who really won in 1948? One of the following did:

• Lord Melody—Canaan Barrow
• King Radio—Who' Dead? Canaan
• Mighty Killer—East Indians with Christian Names

1949—Victor Atwell aka Wonder—Ramgoat Baptism

1950's
1950—Cephas Alexander aka Killer—In a Calabash

1951—Fitzgerald Henry, aka Terror—Tiny Davis

1952—Carlton Gomes aka Spit Fire—Post Post Another Letter for Thelma

1953—Carlton Gomes aka Spit Fire—Bow Wow, Wow

1954—Carlton Joseph aka Blakie—Steel Band Clash

1955—German Composition/popular BBC  Radio UK 1953/1954—Happy Wonderer (Valerie Valera)

            Rules amended: Only songs sung by Trinbagonians became eligible for the Road March Title. 

1956—Slinger Francisco, aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Jean and Dinah

1957—Controversial, many sites list different winners. 

• Carlton Gomes aka Spitfire—Political Party
• Lord Christo—Chicken Chest
• Nap Hepburn—Doctor Nelson

1958—Slinger Francisco, aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Pay As You Earn

1959—Caruso—Run the Gunslingers

1960's
1960—Slinger Francisco, aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Mae Mae

1961—Slinger Francisco, aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Royal Jail

First Official Road March Winner Recorded

1962—Blakie—Maria

1963—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—The Road

1964—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—This Is Mas

1965—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener   My Pussin

1966—Slinger Francisco, aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Obeah Wedding

1967—Aldwyn Roberts aka Lord Kitchener—Sixty Seven

1968—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—Miss Tourist

1969—Slinger Francisco aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Sa Sa Yae

1970's
1970  Aldwyn Roberts aka Lord Kitchener—Margie

1971  Aldwyn Roberts aka Lord Kitchener—Madison Square

1972—Slinger Francisco aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Drunk and Disorderly

1973—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—Rainorama

1974—Winston Bailey aka "Shadow,"—Bass Man

1975—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—Tribute to Spree Simon

1976—Aldwyn Roberts, aka Lord Kitchener—Flag Woman

1977—McArthur Lewis aka Calypso Rose—Tempo

1978—McArthur Lewis aka Calypso Rose—Come Leh We Jam (Soca Jam)

1979—Sylvester Lockhart, aka Poser  Ah Tell She

1980's
1980—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Soca Baptist

1981—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Ethel

1982—Sedley Joseph, aka Penguin—Deputy

1983—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Rebecca

1984—Slinger Francisco aka "The Mighty Sparrow"—Doh Back Back

1985—Edwin Ayoung aka Crazy—Soucoyant

1986—David Rudder—Bahia Girl

1987—Kelvin Pope, aka Duke—Thunder

1988—Christopher Herbert aka Tambu—This Party Is It

1989—Christopher Herbert aka Tambu—Free Up

1990's
1990—Christopher Herbert aka Tambu  We Aren't Going Home

1991—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Get Something and Wave

1992—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Jab Jab

1993—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Bacchanal Time

1994—Barnett Henry, aka Preacher  Jump and Wave

1995—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue, Signal To Lara

1996—Nigel Lewis—Movin

1997—Machel Montano—Big Truck

1998—Wayne Rodriguez—Footsteps

1999—Sanell Dempster—River

2000's
2000—Austin Lyons aka Super Blue/Neil Iwer George (Tie)—Pump Up/Carnival Come Back Again

2001—Winston Bailey aka Shadow—Stranger

2002—Naya George—Trinidad

2003—Faye-Ann Lyons—Display

2004—Shurwayne Winchester—De Band Coming

2005—Shurwayne Winchester—Dead or Alive

2006—Machel Montano and Patrice Roberts—Band of the Year

2007—Machel Montano—Jumbie

2008—Faye Ann Lyons Alvarez—Get on

2009—Faye Ann Lyons Alvarez—Meet Super Blue

2010's
2010—JW and Blaze—Palance

2011—Machel Montano HD—Advantage

2012—Machel Montano—Pump Yuh Flag

2013—Austin Lyons aka Blue Boy/Super Blue—Fantastic Friday

2014—Machel Montano HD—MOR (Ministry of Road)

2015—Machel "Monk Monte" Montano—Like Ah Boss

2016—Machel Montano—Waiting on the Stage

2017—Ultimate Rejects ft. MX Prime—Full Extreme

2018—Machel Montano & Austin "Superblue" Lyons—Soca Kingdom

2019—Machel Montano, Ian Alvarez (Bunji Garlin) & Gamal Doyle (Skinny Fabulous)—Famalay

2020's
2020—Iwer George & Kees Dieffenthaller (of KES the Band)—Stage Gone Bad

2021—No Carnival (Covid-19 Pandemic—Backyard Jam by Farmer Nappy most popular online!)

2022—No Carnival (Covid-19 Pandemic) 

2023—Ian Alvarez aka Bunji Garlin—Hard Fete

2024—Mical Teja—DNA

2025—Machel Montano—Pardy

2026—Coming Soon