AWARDED as the First Family of Calypso by a foreign magazine, All-Rounder and his daughters Lady Wonder and Shirlane Hendrickson seem to have done it all.

Reminiscing from Lady Wonder’s office at New City Mall in Port of Spain, on the ole days of good calypso, he said that he had his first performance on January 6, 1967 under the guidance of the late Lord Kitchener.

He was 27 at the time, singing a rendition of My Little Brother Charlie and was the first person ever to be charged with singing and whistling while vending.

ALL-ROUNDER flanked by his two lovely
daughters, SHIRLANE HENDRICKSON
and LADY WONDER.

“I was a fish vendor in those days and according to the law at that time vendors were not allowed to sing and whistle.”

The case was dismissed. The years 1983 and 1984 are significant as he won Calypso King of the World held in St. Thomas.

In 1994, he placed second for Everybody’s Magazine Calypso King of the World held in New York.

Since then, he has been a mainstay in Trinidad and Tobago’s National Calypso Monarch as a semi-finalist for many years.

His 46-year-old marriage to Wilma Hendrickson is as fruitful as ever and has resulted in one son and four daughters.

Flanked by two of his daughters Lady Wonder and Shirlane during the interview, he said he would be releasing, Fire in Town … Which One?, Super Gran, Message to Parents and Bird Flu.

All-Rounder will also be headlining at the Klassic Ruso Tent at the Kavemar Pub in Port of Spain.

“When you come you will be satisfied with all the good songs. I am putting my best foot forward.

“I will be coming to entertain,” said the performer of 39 years.

He thanked the long-standing support from his family and believes that a family that prays together stays together.

Known as Lady Wonder in the Calypso World, Diane Hendrickson Jones is the manager of the New City Mall, originally called Tent City.

In 1979 she started to sing and was given her sobriquet by Guyanese promoter, Clifton Fraser.

She travelled with the Mighty Sparrow and the Troubadors, and in 1985 she placed second as the first female in the first Young King show.

“I won National Calypso Queen in 1996 and 1997 with composition done by my sister Shirlane.

“Most of what I sing is written by my sister, and my mom and dad have been instrumental in it too.”

She has toured extensively throughout the Caribbean, Europe and North America to expose foreigners to the music of our country.

Having visited Norway already she said she was happy to see that the Ministry of Culture there had put a lot of emphasis and included the performing arts in the schools’ curriculum.

Lady Wonder will be performing two songs this year, Ah Done Pay My Dues and Come Come. She thanked her sister for her presence and lyrical composition, also arranger/producer Shawn McIntyre (Dr. Rhythm) and Minister of Culture, State and Transportation in Antigua/Barbuda, Elston Adams, who invited her to perform in his country.

Forty-four-year-old Shirlane Hendrickson is a different story.

She is the only performer in the family without a sobriquet and has been living abroad for the past 16 years in both New York and Africa.

She has won Calypso Queen four times consecutively from 1998 to 2002, and has stopped entering the competition to give the younger ones a chance to cop the title.

Having worked with Rita Marley, the wife of the late Bob Marley, Hendrickson said: “We still have yet to understand the talent we have here. We need to override the politics.

“What we need is a cultural school here in this country with seven levels. Each representing a different level of our culture.”

A big fan of the Soca Warriors she said she planned to go to Germany to support “our boys” and congratulated not only them, but Brian Lara and Ato Boldon for their immense contribution to sports.

The four songs she will release this year are Road to Germany, Time to Burn, Soca Love Affair and Caribbean Unity.