Edwin Ayoung, better known as Crazy, was born in 1944 at Maraval Road, Port of Spain, Trinidad, one of eleven children to a Chinese Trinidadian father and an Afro-Venezuelan mother.
Whenever we speak of the greatest proponents of the calypso art-form, his name is almost rarely brought up. I think it should be. So I decided to show the man some respect and appreciation as Crazy can also be credited with creating the parang soca genre, and helping to popularize chutney soca with his 1989 hit , Nani Wine. Yes! Crazy was the first artist to sing a “Parang Soca” song (mixing soca and hymnal Latin music) in 1978.
His debut album, Crazy’s Super Album, was released in 1979 and sold over 35,000 copies in his home country. Crazy made his solo carnival debut in 1975 with “The Electrician”, which was also released as a single.
He followed this with “Satan’s Coming” and “A Great Achievement”, before signing for Eddy Grant’s Ice Records label, for which he had his first hit, “Dustbin Cover”/”Listen Joffre Serrette”. The two songs from the single gained him second place at the National Calypso Monarch finals in 1978. In 1982, he finished joint second at Road March with “Uncle Crazy”.
In 1984 he became one of the first soca artists to perform at Reggae Sunsplash. He won Road March in 1985 with “Suck Meh Soucouyant”, and finished as runner-up in 1989. I remember my dad telling me about Trinidad in 1985 and it seemed like the entire country was begging “Suck me, socouyant “, because of his hit that year.
Crazy has also been awarded The Hummingbird Silver Award Artiste, In the Spheres of Music and Culture from the Government of Trinidad & Tobago. I personally have enjoyed Crazy’s music and performances, and fans are eager to experience this legendary artist live and anticipate his upcoming concert in Montreal.
Crazy is set to captivate audiences in Montreal with a live performance on Sunday, November 17th, 2024, at Ganesh Palace Banquet Hall.
