Mighty Sparrow or Birdie (born Slinger Francisco, July 9, 1935, in Grand Roy

Grand Roy

Grand Roy is a town in Grenada. It is located on the island's west coast, to the north of Marigot on the road to Gouyave....

, Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

, West Indies) is a calypso

Calypso music

Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...

 singer, songwriter, and guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

. Known as the "Calypso King of the World," he is one of the most well-known and successful calypsonian

Calypsonian

A calypsonian , originally known as the chantwell is a musician, from the Anglophone Caribbean, who sings songs called calypso. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition...

s. He has won Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

's Carnival Road March

Carnival Road March

The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during Carnival. The Road March title is among the most prestigious titles in Trinidad Carnival. In Trinidad and Tobago the most Road march titles have gone to the Mighty Sparrow and...

 competition eight times and has been named "Calypso Monarch" eleven times.
Sparrow was born in Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

 on July 9, 1935, but moved to Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

 when he was one year old.