Veteran calypsonian Robert “Lord Nelson” Nelson rocked the Faculty of Humanities and Education graduation ceremony on Saturday morning when, instead of giving the usual speech, he performed two of his hits after being conferred an honorary degree of Doctors of Letters.
Wearing a white suit and red graduation robes, Nelson, 90, stood proudly on stage with his walking cane as Prof Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw read out the citation. She spoke of him growing up in Plymouth, Tobago, his move to the US where he was drafted into the army and deployed to Korea, and him discovering his talent when he sang songs of the most popular calypsonians at the time to the troops on weekends.
[caption id="attachment_983135" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Valedictorian Patti-Anne Natalia Amina Ali addresses graduates of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the graduation ceremony, Centre of Excellence, Macoya on Saturday. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
“Nelson is undeniably one of the architects of soca. With his musical genius, he combined the distinct sounds of jazz, rhythm and blues, disco, Latino and afro-Caribbean beats with calypso. His songs have become a part of our soca anthems.
“Nelson’s genius is also to be found in his delivery. Audiences from North and South America, Europe and the Caribbean region have had the opportunity to experience a performance with the iconic jumpsuit, shoes and cap, and the best Caribbean wine, not of the drinking kind, that anyone can offer.”
After receiving his degree from Chancellor Robert Bermudez, he sang part of One Family, and his iconic Meh Lover.
By the time he started Meh Lover, graduates, visitors and professors alike were on their feet clapping and singing along with Nelson. The audience cheered as he invited Bermudez and then campus registrar Dr Dawn-Marie De Four-Gill to dance.
The noise level rose even higher when he started to raise his robes, and finally removed and waved them to give the audience a little wine.
Before all the excitement, Bermudez congratulated the graduates and commended them for “staying the course” through the challenges of the covid19 pandemic. He said they proved themselves to be strong, resilient, and determined.
[caption id="attachment_983134" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Professor Brian Copeland, faculty members and graduates dance to Lord Nelson's performance at the UWI, St Augustine campus graduation ceremony, Centre of Excellence Macoya on Saturday. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
He said they had a role to play in the country’s economic recovery and the fostering and nurturing the democratic principles in society, as social issues was important in both.
“This is not to say that you must undertake the role of government. Higher education plays a role in the democratisation of societies by encouraging graduates to be critical thinkers, to be objective in assessing the information available to them, and to be open to other schools of thought, in the hope that the information wi
