Rum and Coca-Cola

Rum and Coca-Cola is the title of a popular calypso song. Originally written by musicians from Trinidad and Tobago, it was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and became a huge hit, selling some four million singles when a version was recorded by the Andrews Sisters.

External links

• Biography of Rupert Grant (stage name, Lord Invader).
• During a concert in 1943, Lord Invader describes the circumstances behind his composition of the song and sings his version of it. Recording taken from "Calypso at Midnight," Rounder Records 11661-1840 (2000).
• Another rendition by Lord Invader
• Biography of Lionel Belasco
• Legal opinion by New York District Judge Simon Rifkind, who ruled that the music to "Rum and Coca-Cola" infringed upon the copyright to Lionel Belasco's song, "L'Année Passée." Includes a link to a piano rendition of Belasco's music.
• Ray Funk details the history of the song and quotes the Andrews Sisters describing their experience recording it. "The Kaiso Newsletter," no. 33, January 14, 2000.
• The Mudcat Cafe, a website devoted to folk musicology, has a forum thread that discusses the song, with postings that include the full lyrics of both the Lord Invader and Morey Amsterdam versions, as well as the lyrics to "L'Année Passée" and some alternative, more ribald lyrics for "Rum and Coca-Cola" that Amsterdam reportedly sang when entertaining troops. ("She wear grass skirt but that's O. K. / Yankee like to hit the hay.")