Slinger Francisco[1] ORTT CM OBE (born 9 July 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist.

[5] He began singing as a small child, but his love of calypso was discouraged while at Newtown Boys Catholic School, where he sang in the choir.

[3][7] On leaving school, he began working for the government Control Board, but continued to perform calypso, which became the better paid of the two, and his residency at the Lotus Club made him a star locally.

In 1955, Sparrow made his first recordings – "Missing Baby (Ruby)", "High Cost of Living" and "Race Track" for Vitadisc – which were included on the Royalties of Calypso Kingdom compilation a few years later.

In 1955 and 1956, he also recorded "Give The Youngsters A Chance", "Family Size Coke", "Goaty", "Clara Honey Bunch" and "Yankee's Back Again" for GEMS, "Jean And Dinah" and "The Queen's Canary" for Kay, and "Sailor Man" for Veejay Special Ace.

[9] Sparrow refused to officially participate in the competition for the next three years, but he continued to perform unofficially, even winning another Road March title in 1958 with "P.A.Y.E."

Trinidadian expatriate Lord Kitchener had helped popularize calypso in the United Kingdom, and Sparrow also found some success there.

[11] In January 1958, Sparrow, along with longtime rival Lord Melody, travelled to New York City seeking access to the American music audience.

[10] Their version of "Only a Fool Breaks His Own Heart" (written by Norman Bergen and Shelly Coburn) gave them an international hit in 1969, earning a gold disc upon its re-release in late 1977, igniting a No.

[10][15] He had his greatest success internationally in the 1970s, starting with the album The Best Of, featuring live recordings in Brooklyn, New York of Sparrow favorites.

[17] Sparrow recognized the advantages of using New York as a base for recording and international touring, and by the mid-1960s moved his operation and family to Jamaica, Queens.

He wrote a number of calypsos about life in New York, bookended by his 1969 classic "Mas in Brooklyn" and his provocative 1991 "Crown Heights Justice.

Also around this time, he began to spend at least half the year in New York City, finding an apartment in the West Indian neighborhoods in Jamaica, Queens.

[34][35] During his early career he was a supporter of Eric Williams and his People's National Movement (PNM),[14] which formed in 1955 and led Trinidad and Tobago to independence in 1962;[36] songs such as "Leave The Damn Doctor Alone" and "William the Conqueror" mentioned Williams directly, while others such as "Federation" (blaming Jamaica for the breakup of the short-lived West Indies Federation), "Our Model Nation" (celebrating Trinidadian independence), and "PAYE" (supporting the PNM's pay-as-you-earn tax system) echoed PNM positions.

Sparrow did express discontent in 1957's "No, Doctor, No", but it was comparatively mild, and aimed at holding PNM politicians to their promises rather than replacing them.

One of his most famous hits, "Dead or Alive" (1979), which achieved international acclaim, addressed the tyranny of rulers such as Idi Amin, the Shah of Iran and other leaders of the era.

His tongue-in-cheek humour is best expressed by his 1970 hit "Sparrow Dead", which addressed the premature rumours of his death, which persist to this day.