“CALYPSO’S Sweetest Voice” is what his grand-daughter called him, and Head-of-State President David Granger paid homage to Malcolm ‘Lord Canary’ Corrica as a great son of the soil.As tributes poured from politicians, musicians, relatives and friends, three separate services pulled the curtains down on the life of the renowned Calypsonian and former Government Minister Malcolm Corrica, who was laid to rest at a cemetery in St. Matthew’s Anglican Church at Providence, East Bank Demerara, Wednesday.

President Granger paid final respects to the late Corrica, at a viewing ceremony held at the Sandy’s Funeral Home, Georgetown. The President extended his condolences to the children of the deceased, Mr. Malcolm Corrica Jr., Mr. Jeffrey Corrica and Ms. Pauline Pierre. Lord Canary died on October 10 at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre at the age of 79. He had been suffering from hypertension and other illnesses, which had resulted in the amputation of his left leg a few years ago.
Corrica’s grand-daughter, Iyodele Hamilton, eulogised his life during the service at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church yesterday afternoon, tracing the life of the singer as he walked the paths of Calypso and politics, while also remembering him as being a family man. “Loving, creative, adorable” were qualities his own family had recognised in a father, grandfather, friend and more, and according to the eulogy, he was introduced to live musical performances on his very first birthday.
“It is recorded that to celebrate Malcolm’s first birthday Daddy William [his father] organised and hosted a kind of mini-concert for relatives and friends. So it could be said that from one year old Malcolm Corrica was introduced to music, singing and a stage.”
His performances on stages in church and during movie-breaks at cinemas are memorable, and as Corrica broke into the national calypso scene, he joined voices internationally with the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody in 1966, and was soon after on his way to the United States of America (USA) performing at Madison Square Garden. He had been a Champion, a Monarch many times.
But Corrica was more than just a music man. Before he became a politician, Corrica was exposed to small business and entrepreneurship and earned money as he helped his mom Inez create ‘mucra’ baskets to sell in Georgetown. He sold milk with a bicycle along the East Bank and earned a certificate for cooking curried beef and potatoes at the first Jamboree held by St. Anne’s Club and Scout Troop. He was a master in construction and supervised the construction of the Chinese Bel Lu Clay-Blocks Factory on the West Demerara.
His political career began under the Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham administration while he was a member of the People’s National Congress (PNC) party. His song CARIFESTA 72 was theme for the first Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), and he was appointed Member of Parliament from 1969 to 1973. Then between 1973 and 1980, he became Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Minister of State (1980-1985) in the Department of Culture within the Ministry of Education.
Malcolm Corrica was awarded the 1992 Medal of Service “for long service with exceptional dedication in the fields of politics and popular music as a composer and entertainer.”
Corrica was born on March 21, 1937 in Wortmanville, Georgetown, but his family moved to Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, while he was still an infant.