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00:22 After a professional music career spanning over 30 years, Denise Plummer sang her last tune on Sunday after an intense battle with cancer.
00:31 Plummer entered the professional calypso scene back in 1986, where she was greeted by a hostile calypso fiesta crowd.
00:39 A baptism of fire is how the president of the Trinbego Unified Calypsonians organization describes her debut.
00:47 We have never seen that sort of a thing, you know, toilet paper all over the place.
00:52 And then she stuck to it and continued regardless of how she was treated.
00:59 You know, and she made it to the top of calypso and actually won a calypso title.
01:05 So today, I mean, even before she passed, you will hear people referring to, you need to be as strong as Denise, you know.
01:13 You need to have courage like Denise, you know, in order to make it, because the courage that was demonstrated is something that we will never, ever forget.
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01:37 Plummer went on to win the calypso queen title a total of 10 times over the years and even became the first woman to snag the young king's title in 1990.
01:47 Plummer is best known for the song which gave her her sole calypso monarch title in 2001, "Nah Leavin'".
01:54 But she's also well remembered for other hits like "Woman is Boss" and "Heroes".
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02:28 We are more concerned and we will have to investigate and find out from the family about her estate.
02:35 Because one of the things that this new executive is concerned about is passing on the estate, you know.
02:44 Have it been inherited by family members?
02:47 And if ma'am, the music, we want to encourage like other generation to sing the music and to have live performances to pass it on from one generation to the next.
02:59 So our concern, we are going to investigate and find out because if they need any form of assistance, we are prepared.
03:08 In the later stages of her career, Denise Plummer gave her life to Jesus Christ and made the decision to sing strictly gospel, turning her back once and for all on the industry she had fought tooth and nail to enter.
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03:51 Her ability to transcend the genres is one of the things which set Plummer apart from her peers, according to Mark Loquan, who composed several of her songs, including "Identity" and "Frenzy".
04:05 She was so versatile, you know, it's like one day she could be on a Calypso stage singing, you know, a Calypso, the next day she could be singing a song for Panorama or the next day a Seattle event singing in a church, you know, a Holy Night or something.
04:27 Her versatility was incredible. And of course, seeing her from Chukwudni and singing pop and ballads and so on and all the latest hits, it just shows her incredible range.
04:41 [Music]
04:53 For many, Denise Plummer will be best remembered not just for her music, but for her spirit. We asked a few people in Port of Spain to share their memories of the late Calypso Queen.
05:04 We have lost an icon because she was one of the first, well, her appearance was Caucasian. So when she came onto the Calypso scene, she was somewhat rejected. But she stood up. She stood up and she showed what she was actually worth. And I commend her posthumously.
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05:31 She was a good artist. Never degraded people. No matter what, she always stood up for her people. She was a straightforward woman. And I hope that the Lord bless her and put her in a good place that at least her soul could rest in peace. And somebody could pick up where she left off and continue.
05:56 [Music]
06:22 Vanessa Cutting, TV6 News.
06:26 ♪ Johnny B ♪
