This annotated discography covers the first 50 years of audio recordings by black artists in chronological order, music made in the "acoustic era" of recording technology. The book has cross-referenced bibliographical information on recording sessions, including audio sources for extant material, and appendices on field recordings; Caribbean, Mexican and South American recordings; piano rolls performed by black artists; and a filmography detailing the visual record of black performing artists from the period. Indexes contain all featured artists, titles recorded and labels.

Calypso, with its richly diverse cultural heritage, was the most significant Caribbean musical form from World War I to Trinidad and Tobago Independence in 1962. Though wildly popular in mid-1950s America, Calypso--along with other music from ""the island of the hummingbird""--has been largely neglected or forgotten. This first-ever discography of the first 50 years of Trinidadian music includes all the major artists, as well as many unknowns. Chronological entries for 78 rpm recordings give bibliographical references, periodicals and websites and the recording location. Rare field recordings...