The National record label ran from approximately 1963 to 1967. It was the home of Sparrow throughout its existence, releasing some of his finest recordings including The Slave and The Village Ram.
There seem to have been about 190 singles released on the label, and the list below is far from comprehensive.
They were mostly local recordings, but it is known that Maxine Brown's soul classic "Oh No, Not My Baby" was released in Trinidad on the label.
The album numbering sequence seems to defy conventional logic! There were several Sparrow albums, a pan album by Neville Jules and calypso albums by Lord Nelson, Sniper, the Mighty Beaver and King Fighter.
The vast majority of located recordings were backed by Bertram Inniss and his orchestra, known initially as the National Recording Orchestra and later as The Society Playboys.
Sadly Bertram Inniss died in 1967 or 1968 and the National label (possibly coincidentally) changed to the RA label at around this time.
Apart from Sparrow's records, popular original recordings included Terror's monarchy winners "Last Year's Happiness" b/w "Steelband Jamboree", Calypso Rose's "Fire in You Wire" and Lord Blakie's "Hold the Pussy".
7" singles - Main Series
| Catalogue Number | Artist | Title | Format | Year | Date on Record |
|
NSP 002 |
National Rec. Orch featuring Famous Frankie [Mr. Caiso] |
Kennedy/Dotish Married Man |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
NSP 003 |
National Rec. Orch featuring Famous Frankie (Mr. Caiso) |
Harry & Mama/Old Man & The Donkey |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
NSP 005 |
Mighty Bomber |
Tribute to the Government/Worse Than That |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
NSP 008 |
Lord Nelson |
Problems On My Mind/Itch |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 009 | Lord Inventor | Don't Bad Talk Marriage/European Common Market | 7"; |
1963 |
|
| NSP 010 | Mighty Sparrow | Ferris Wheel/Corbeau Sheltering Rain | 7"; |
1963 |
|
| NSP 011 | Mighty Sparrow | Old Man And Donkey/Calypso Twist | 7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 019 | City Symphony Steel Orch | Kennedy/Night and Day | 7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 020 | City Symphony Steel Orch | Cemetary/Tunes of Glory |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 021 | Andre Tanker's Combo | Upside Down/Val Querer |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 022 | Andre Tanker's Combo | Wedding Samba/Limbo Rock |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 023 | Starlift Steel Orchestra | The Outcast/I Feel Pretty |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 024 | Starlift Steel Orchestra | Acceleration Waltz/Eine Kleine Nachtmusik |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P. 025 | Amuser | Nasty Rake In Town/Electric Wedger |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
N.S.P.026 |
Mighty Beaver |
Rosie/Carnival |
7"; |
1963 |
|
| N.S.P.027 | Sniper | Old Women Scandal/Give Papa a Chance |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
N S P 028 |
Lord Nelson |
Stella/Party For Santa Claus |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
NSP 029 |
Mighty Sparrow |
So Much in Love/Harry, Elaine & Mama |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
N.S.P. 030 |
Composer |
Supposin/Too Fast |
7"; |
1963 |
|
|
N.S.P. 031 |
Duke |
Woop Wap/Racial Segregation |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
NSP 032 |
Lord Laro |
Valerina/Don't Buy |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N. S. P. 033 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Death of Kennedy/Land of the Sea and Sun |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
NSP 033 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Death of Kennedy/Kennedy Can Handle Them |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N. S. P. 034 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Ee Don Dey/Village Ram |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N. S. P. 034 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Village Ram/Bull Pistle Gang |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N. S. P. 035 |
King Flying Fish (Bill Trotman) |
Eatwell Brown/Mae Mae |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N.S.P. 036 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Mr. Kitchener/You Don't Love Me |
7"; |
1964 |
|
| N.S.P.-041 | Lord Nelson | Nelo Drunk Again/Bedtime Stories |
7"; |
1964 |
|
| NSP 042 | Mighty Zandolie | The Iron Man/Chicken Thief |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N.S.P. 044 |
Mighty Dougla |
Mama and Papa/Money |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N.S.P. 045 |
Composer |
The Drunk And His Wife/? |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N. S. P. 047 |
Young Creole |
The Army/Hold On Boy |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
NSP 049 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Norman/Ned |
7"; |
1964 |
|
|
N.S.P. 050 |
Mighty Zebra |
Trinidad Land Of Calypso/Modern Craze |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 051 |
Mighty Terror |
Female Woodcutter/Chinese Children |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP - 052 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Congo Man/Patsy |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP - 053 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Solomon/Well Spoken Moppers |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP - 054 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Man Likes to Feel/Mother |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP - 055 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Bermuda Gal/My Little Sister |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-060 |
Bill Trotman |
Beg Me/Run Joe |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-061 |
Mighty Beaver |
My Boy Joey/Do As You Say |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-062 |
Lord Magic |
Lord Magic Proclamation/Obey The Highway Code |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-065 |
Ron Berridge Orchestra |
My Funny Valentine/Lleuge |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-066 |
Ron Berridge Orchestra |
Ponto Negro/El Timbalero |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
NSP-067 |
Ron Berridge Orchestra |
Maria/Do-Re-Mi |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
N.S.P. 072 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Big Bamboo/Jordon |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 074 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Steering Wheel/You Don't Love Me |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 077 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Bag Ah Sugar/Bikini Girl |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 078 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Going Home Tonight/Honesty |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 079 |
Mighty Sparrow |
The Rebel/Shanty Town People |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 080 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Papa Jack/Sir Garfield Sobers |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 081 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Obeah Wedding/B G Plantain |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 085 |
Cowboy Jack |
El Rancho Grande/Alisco |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 86 |
Mighty Duke |
Trouble/Sniper In Jail |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 087 |
Darlington Brown and the Astronauts |
Satin and Lace/Coming Home Baby |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 088 |
Five Fingers Combo |
Rum and Sunshine/Edelweiss |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 089 |
Lord Nelson |
Don't Let The Party End/Human Convertibles |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 090 |
Lord Nelson |
No More White Christmas/Merry Christmas To One and All |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 092 |
The Five Fingers Combo |
Going Home Tonight/The Rebel |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 093 |
Mighty Terror |
Last Year's Happiness/Steelband Jamboree |
7"; |
1966 |
|
| N.S.P. 094 | Mighty Zandolie | Goat Thief/Stickman |
7"; |
1966 |
|
| N.S.P. 099 | BWIA Sunjets SO | A Sound From Above/Obeah Wedding |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 100 |
Lord Nelson |
Doo Doo Darling/He And She |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 101 |
Lord Nelson |
Neighbour/Sugar |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 103 |
Mighty Cypher |
Noisy Tenants/Rhodesia Crisis |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 104 |
Mighty Zebra |
The Dead Wouldn't Raise/Mothers |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 107 |
Lord Nelson |
Don't Ever Say (It's All Over)/When He Lets You Down |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 108 |
Mighty Terror |
Keep Calypso Clean/Home Sweet Home |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 109 |
Mighty Terror |
Call The Nation Home/Now For Now Love |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 110 |
Mighty Skylark |
Too Much Licks/No VIP |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 111 |
Mighty Leveller |
It's Carnival Again/How to Curb Delinquency |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
N.S.P. 113 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Fool Fool Fool |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 115 |
Kentones Combo |
Doing The Cha Cha/O Ganso |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 118 |
The Jarvo Bros. Combo |
Balihi/A Garden in Grenada |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 119 |
Casanovas |
In a Monastery Garden/Petit Fleur |
7"; |
1966 |
|
|
NSP 123 |
The Winds |
Melda/Nancy Tweet Tweet Tweet |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 124 |
The Winds |
Dingolay/Little Birdie |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 127 | Lord Blackhat | Longtime Version/Centipede In The Bikini |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 126 | Mighty Zandolie | Secret Love/Dolly Doray |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 128 |
Mighty Terror |
We Need Decent Calypsonians/No Joke in Business |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 130 |
Mighty Duke |
Mr. Soft Candle/Leh Me Go |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 132 |
Mighty Bomber |
Animal Sports Meeting/Unemployment Situation |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 134 |
Mighty Cypher |
The Priest Could Play/Baptist Woman |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 136 |
Lord Christo |
Walking Race/Grenada Woman |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 140 |
Cordettes |
Governor's Ball/No Money No Love |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 142 |
Winds |
The World In Trinidad/Let It Be Me |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 145 |
Calypso Rose |
Fire in you Wire/A Man is a Man |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 146 |
Lord Canary |
Doctor Beckles/Come Go |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 147 |
Ed Watson Orch. |
Mother in Law/Shango Man |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 148 |
Mighty Gibralter |
Snow Cone/No Birth Control |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 149 |
Dutchy Bros Orchestra |
St. Louis Blues/Hatching [Hatchero?] |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 150 |
Dutchy Bros Orchestra |
Goza Me Pachanga/Michelle |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 151 |
Dutchy Bros Orchestra |
No Money No Love/You Sweeten Me |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 152 |
The Five Fingers Combo |
Niggerman/My Love For You is Sure |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 154 |
The Five Fingers Combo |
67' Carnival/Teensville |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 155 |
Lord Blakie |
Hold the Pussy/The Riddle |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| N.S.P. 156 | Mighty Unknown | Loving in Music/Diego Martin |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| N.S.P. 157 | Calypso Rose | My Kinda Guy/Too Much Misery |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 158 |
Mighty Power |
The Fat Man/The Guns |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 159 |
Lord Blakie |
Man Badder/Steel Band Clash |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 160 |
Lord Baker |
God Bless Our Nation/No Sex Under Sixteen |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| N.S.P. 161 | ESSO Tripoli Steel Orchestra | Theme from Paganini/Gift of Love |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| N.S.P. 162 | Ebonites Steel Orchestra | Ballet Egyptienne/Sandra |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP - 164 |
Lord Baker |
Bad Pay/Calypsonians Ball |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| N.S.P. 165 | The Avalons | Summer Time/Jezebel |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 166 | Raymond Cicault and His Stars | No Money No Love/Cadan ..?MPA in Trinidad |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 167 | Casanovas | As Tears Go By/Samba De Orfeo |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 167 | Mighty Zandolie | Too Much Man Family/Merchant of Venice |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| NSP 168 | Lord Canary | Oh My Rajah/Maintain Democracy |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 171 |
Jarvo Bros Orchestra |
Geronimo/Winchester Cathedral |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 173 |
Calypso Rose |
Sweet Pudding Man/Man Wanted |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 174 |
Avalons |
Holiday Island/Walking In The Sunshine |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 176 |
Mighty Zebra |
Generous Wife/Obeah Man |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 177 |
Ed Watson |
Heart of a Child/Never Never |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 179 |
Jarvo Bros |
His Girl/Find Me A Golden Street |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 180 |
Duke |
Put On The Light/Calypsoul |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 181 |
Calypso Rose |
Too Much Vitality/The Crab |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 182 |
Lord Blakie |
My Sweet Trinidad/Something Wrong |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
NSP 184 |
Mighty Zandolie |
The Whip/Venezuela Law |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 187 |
Power |
Trinidad Girls/The Bench |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 188 |
Lord Laro |
Yankee Man in Viet Nam/Soul Finger |
7"; |
1967 |
|
|
N.S.P. 189 |
Lord Nelson |
Nelo's Calamity/Dingo-lay |
7"; |
1967 |
Other 7" singles
| Catalogue Number | Artist | Title | Format | Year | Date on Record |
|
Lord Nelson |
Nelo Drunk Again/Bedtime Stories |
7"; |
1964 |
||
|
S-160 |
Mighty Sparrow |
She's Been Gone Too Long/The Village Ram |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
W-162 |
Maxine Brown |
Oh No Not My Baby/You Upset My Soul |
7"; |
1965 |
|
|
S-1279 |
Big Maybelle |
Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me/Same Old Story |
7"; |
1965 |
|
| WIRL N.S.P. 3238 | Jarvo Bros. Combo | Winchester Cathedral/Geronimo |
7"; |
1967 |
|
| 2021 | King Obstinate | Mind You Business/Yankee Girl Sue |
7"; |
1967 |
"S-160" and "W-162" above were originally issued on the US Wand label, beloved of soul fans, particularly in the UK, and the catalogue numbers were picked up from the Wand releases; S-1279 was from the related Scepter label.
LPs
| Catalogue Number | Artist | Title | Format | Year | Date on Record |
|
NLP 4188 |
Mighty Sparrow |
The Slave |
LP |
1963 |
|
|
NLP 4189 |
Lord Nelson |
A Proud West Indian |
LP |
1963 |
|
|
NLP - 4190 |
Mighty Beaver |
Carnival |
LP |
1963 |
|
|
NLP 4191 |
Sniper |
Calypso (Old Woman Scandal) |
LP |
1963 |
|
| NLP 4192 | Neville Jules | Classics In Steel |
LP |
1963 |
|
|
NLP 4199 |
Mighty Sparrow |
The Outcast |
LP |
1964 |
|
| NLP 606 | Angostura Starlift Steel Orchestra | Thinking of You While Listening to Starlift, Trinidad's No. 1 Carnival Steelband | LP |
1964 |
|
|
NLP - S1 9001 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Sings True Life Stories of Passion, People & Politics |
LP |
1964 |
1964 |
|
NLP 4410 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Christmas With Sparrow |
LP |
1964 |
|
|
NA - 101 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Sparrow Christmas Songs |
LP |
1964 |
|
|
NLP 5050 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Congo Man |
LP |
1965 |
1965 |
|
NLP-5050A |
Mighty Sparrow |
Sparrow's Carnival 1965 |
LP |
1965 |
|
|
NLP 5515 |
Mighty Sparrow |
Tattooed Lady |
LP |
1965 |
|
|
NLP 8420 |
Mighty Sparrow |
The Calypso Genius |
LP |
1966 |
|
|
NLP 3333 |
King Fighter |
Trindad Calypso Devil |
LP |
1967 |
1967 |
|
N.L.P. 8099 |
Various Artists |
Top 10 Calypsoes from the Original Young Brigade 1967 |
LP |
1967 |
1967 |