Fannie and Alan Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College

David Rudder - Calypsonian, Vocalist, Musical Composer

David will join Christopher Cozie, Trinidadr, Artist in Residence at Dartmouth for the concluding presentation at the Humanities Institute Conference 2007 - No Laughing Matter: Visual Humor in Ideas of Race, Nationality and Ethnicity.

David was born in Belmont, Trinidad on May 6, 1953, and began his musical career at age 11, when he joined a group called The Solutions. In 1977, he joined the brass band Charlie's Roots. The artist, who is often described as "a pensive, self-contained individual," has been musically influenced by the Shango and Pan yard that he grew up in as a young boy, although his musical tastes have often leaned towards jazz, and African drum beats.

Rudder's first big break came when he was asked to fill in for Christopher "Tambu" Herbert, lead singer with Charlie's Roots, while on the band's tour. Rudder stayed on as a co-lead singer, and built a reputation for his scintillating performances. He established himself as one of the few band singers who wrote all his own songs, and his popularity flowed from his obvious talent and from the radically different image he cultivated of himself as a singer. He did not take a calypso name, did not drink (alcohol) and rarely fraternized with the other calypsonians.

David has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, New York Times, The Village Voice, The LA Times, Newsweek Magazine, Billboard, The London Observer, The Jamaica Gleaner, Now, and Miami Herald. He has won several awards for his popular and often controversial songs, including Album of the Year at both the Caribbean Music Awards, as well as the Nafeita Awards.