Celebrating the Soca King: Edwin Yearwood
The year was 1995 and the place was The National Stadium, for Edwin Yearwood, his life would change as he was about to make history.
His musical tribute to Barbadian athlete and future Barbadian Olympic bronze medalist, Obadele Thompson entitled ‘Oba’ and the lyrically conscious song, ‘A Voice In My Head’ were the two songs which helped him to take three crowns that year, Party Monarch, Tune of the Crop and Pic-O-De-Crop during the Crop Over Festival.
Edwin Yearwood, originally a shy young teenager eventually grew up to be a well known songwriter and one of the most dynamic entertainers in Barbados. With a career which started in the late 1980s, “The General” as he is affectionately known, over the years has shown a versatility which captured the attention and affection of fans in Barbados and across the world.
Starting Young
According to the VP Records biography, Edwin was fourteen-years old when he won a local Teen Talent Competition in 1983. It took another six years before, he joined a band called Higher Level with fellow band members, Michael Agard, Felix Ford and Anthony Bailey. The band would be known to play covers and local folk songs on the hotel circuit.
Evolution in name and sound
By 1993, the band now known as Crossfire became Krosfyah, working with the Barbados Tourist Board. Beginning to form its own new identity, the band moved away from covers to playing their own music. This brought songs, “Hot Tempo” known for its trumpet instrumen-tals and drum beats and had a similar vibe to then popular band, Spice and Company. A sweet soca tune called “Pump Me Up” would debut in 1995 and take Edwin and Krosfyah to new heights as it sold more than 50,000 copies.
On Fyah
Edwin and the band will continue to rise throughout the years all the while building an illustrious solo career. He will continue to shine in Party Monarch and Tune of the Crop, release successful albums and singles, Aim High, Fyah Riddims and Wet Me. During the 1990s, he would team up with world Soca Monarch Ray ‘Papi Chulo’ Armstrong and release Hot Zone, performing in the USA and Europe. In 2005, he signed a six album deal with VP Record-Waistline Music Division making history as the first soca act on the label.
His work has not gone unnoticed as he has received the Corner Stone Award in 2006 for his twenty year contribution to the Barbados Entertainment land-scape at the Barbados Music Awards. The following year, he won the Best Soca Compilation with Bunji Garlin, “All Board” at the Broward Centre for Performing Arts in the United States among other accolades.
Transitioning with the times
Edwin like his counterparts has seen and adapted to changing styles and culture of Barbadian calypso and soca. Throughout the 2000s to present he has had a string of hits, “Handle ya Bizniz”, “Nah Missing Me”, “Chrissening”, “Good Time”, “Cova de Road” and last year’s popular tune, “Home Sweet Home”. With a unique and iconic voice and sound, the Soca King has worked with the likes of Red Boyz, Monstapiece, Peter Ram and presently has current songs, Trail, Winners Circle, Tax-He and Beggars on Youtube. This year, he will return to the Pic-O-De Crop Competition stage which signified one of his greatest achievements in his near thirty-year career.