After 64 years of thrilling audiences worldwide, the Troubadours International have called it a day.
Guitarist and spokesman for the group, Alps Corbin, who was part of the band for 53 years, told the DAILY NATION in an exclusive interview that the group “would never again be seen playing together on a stage”.
Alps said that they have decided, while still at their pinnacle, that now is the best time to say goodbye.
The group’s last performance in Barbados was at the National Botanical Gardens during CARIFESTA XV last year.
Reflecting on the camaraderie and achievements, he said emotions were running high but the cherished moments would be everlasting.
Alps noted that in deciding on their exit from the international stage, factors such as their longevity and countless accomplishments played an integral part.
“We are like a family. We have reached our limits and have met some wonderful people. I have seen the world through the Troubadours. I quit a very good job at Rediffusion to join the group and I have absolutely no regrets,” he said.
The band brought hits such as Nice Time, Plaintain, Garrot Bounce and several spouge songs.
About 20 years ago, the Troubadours had disbanded while in Canada, but when businessman Orville Folkes asked them to come to his company for a jam session, it reignited a flame that was virtually impossible to extinguish.
“We had not seen each other for about ten years, but we started to play and jam like we had never missed a gig. That’s how we restarted,” Alps recalled.
This time, however, he said the signoff was final.
The veteran guitarist stressed that a passion for music was what kept the band united, adding that the money, and even “the girls”, were secondary.
In highlighting their musical prowess, Alps said they were “the first spouge band ever in the world”, but were never recognised for it.
“People think of the Draytons Two when they think of the creators of spouge, but that’s not true. Jackie Opel sang with the Troubadours and he taught us his beat – spouge.”
He added that they never broke from their Barbadian roots and always answered the call to come home when requested to do so.
The band performed under strict rules, and members were forbidden from even chewing gum while playing, and it was compulsory to play in uniform.
Some of the band’s more memorable moments were performing for the mayor of Los Angeles at a benefit concert for American basketball legend Earvin Magic Johnson and with American saxophonist Dave Koz.
“ Troubadours could not ask for a better life,” Alps said.
He recounted the horror of a close call on their lives in the 1980s when the van in which they were travelling became engulfed in flames on a New York highway, forcing them to scamper to safety.
They lost everything, including money, passports and musical instruments, saving only the clothes they wore as they headed to perform at the popular St George’s Hotel in New York.
In Barbados, though the Troubadours were showered with “much love” from audiences, especially women, Alps said the pushback from DJs in terms of airplay was significant, adding that they got a hard deal, even at Independence.
Effusive in his praise for musical director Raymond Blake, Alps said he gave Troubadours its inimitable sound with his excellent arrangements, particularly so in “making three horns sound like 16”.
The band has backed Trinidadian calypsonian Calypso Rose on two albums, one of which was May Day Mas arranged by Art DeCoteau.
With a flood of memories, the Troubadours International sail into the sunset knowing that they have achieved their utmost goals and touched innumerable hearts worldwide. (John Boyce)
The post Troubadours call it a day appeared first on nationnews.com.
