Extempore Calypso King Sheldon John is no longer with us... the singer who won the extempore calypso competition six times from 2001 to 2003 then again in 2005 and 2006 died at the Mount Hope Medical Sciences Complex on Sunday due to kidney failure. The Calypso fraternity will miss this talented singer who became a master of the art of extempore improvisation.
The singer did perform for this Carnival with his last performance at the Kaisorama that was won by Lady Africa, the first female to win the competition.
2011 Kaisorama Group Extempore Performance (The audio is not the best but it is still worth listening).
Cultural Minister Winston "Gypsy" Peters who competed against Mr. John had this to say about his friend: “We had many duels together. He took the art form very seriously. We had a real good relationship. I went to hospital and visited him last Wednesday. The whole fraternity is saddened. It is a great loss for Extempo,” Peters said in a telephone interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. “I remember he started with Over The Hill Boys somewhere in the 1990s. He was a very brave young man and very promising exponent of the art,” he said. “We are going to miss him dearly. We have lost Big ‘B’ and now Sheldon. We are going to keep the art form going in their names."
Cultural Minister Winston "Gypsy" Peters who competed against Mr. John had this to say about his friend: “We had many duels together. He took the art form very seriously. We had a real good relationship. I went to hospital and visited him last Wednesday. The whole fraternity is saddened. It is a great loss for Extempo,” Peters said in a telephone interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. “I remember he started with Over The Hill Boys somewhere in the 1990s. He was a very brave young man and very promising exponent of the art,” he said. “We are going to miss him dearly. We have lost Big ‘B’ and now Sheldon. We are going to keep the art form going in their names."
The funeral for the late Sheldon John, talented singer and Extempore Champion of Trinidad and Tobago, is scheduled to take place on Thursday April 5,2012.
In memory of the late Sheldon John we pay tribute to the man... take a few minutes and listen to the Great Mighty Sparrow sing "Memories". We do this song in tribute, in memory of Sheldon.Memories - Mighty Sparrow