Rudolph Charles (1 October 1938 – 29 March 1985) was a musician and instrument maker of the steelpan, but most notably, he was a pioneer and leader of the steelband movement in Trinidad and Tobago.
Charles was born as fourth of nine children and grew up in Laventille, a ward of Trinidad, near the capital Port of Spain.
[5][1] The Rudolph Charles Pan Innovation Award was founded to encourage emerging tuners, and is a part of the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Music Festival.
[6][2] In 2005 Destra Garcia paid tribute to Charles and her home town with a song entitled "Laventille (The Hammer Revisited)", a duet with Rudder.
[2] At UK Panorama 2013, Real Steel's winning calypso "Hammer Time" was dedicated to Rudolph Charles.