Singing Sandra On Stage – Always Regally Dressed
Basseterre, St.Kitts – Nevis
May 19th 2008
Calypso music’s biggest female icon, Singing Sandra, was announced today as a special guest performer at this weekend’s much anticipated and talked about Miss Personality and Marvellous Queen and Ring Bang Calypso Show. Born Sandra Des Vignes, the talented singer is well known for her nurturing approach and maternal counsel to Caribbean. “I am very excited about performing in St.Kitts,” Sandra said during a phone interview.
Sandra has come a long way since her debut at Sparrow’s Young Brigade tent in 1984.
From taking the calypso stage against the wishes of a concerned father to her rise to royalty status in the genre, the two-time national calypso monarch continues to defy all odds. While at Young Brigade she copped both the local National Calypso Queen and St Maarten Queen of the World titles in 1987 with Sexy Employees, more popularly known as Die With My Dignity. The song mirrored Sandra’s image and spiritually strong moral standing and was an immediate hit with women in society who identified with the images of male chauvinism in the workplace. “”˜You could keep your money, I go keep my honey and die with my dignity’
In 1991, she took her career a step further with the formation of the United Sisters quartet that featured, along with Sandra, calypsonians Marvellous Marva, Tigress and the now-deceased Lady B. The group, all graduates of the Best Village programme, was a hit with Caribbean calypso fans and represented feminine strength in a time when women were either too afraid or timid to hold the spotlight. They went on to win the Trinidad National Song Festival and placed second in the Caribbean Song Festival that same year with “Ambataila Woman” penned by Lady B.
