Calypso Crazy

Album: Tear Down These Walls (1988)
Charted: 35
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Calypso Crazy" isn't really Calypso, it's really synth-pop with some hints of Calypso music, but it's about a woman who loves it and drives the singer wild. Elvis Presley did something similar on his 1963 hit "Bossa Nova Baby," which isn't really bossa nova but is about a girl who loves dancing to it.
  • Billy Ocean was born in Trinidad and lived there until he moved to London with his family at age 7. He loves Calypso music but was very pragmatic when he became a singer, recording in whatever genre he thought could move his career forward. That was mostly pop and R&B.

    "Calypso Crazy" calls back to his island upbringing in a style that embraced the hit sound of the day. It wasn't released as a single in America but went to #35 in the UK.
  • Superproducer Mutt Lange was at the controls for this song and wrote it with Ocean. When you list the major artists Lange worked with in the '80s, you think of AC/DC, Foreigner, Def Leppard and The Cars, but he was there for some pretty significant Billy Ocean hits as well. In fact, his first co-write that went to #1 was Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car," which appears on Tear Down These Walls, the same album as "Calypso Crazy."
  • This song came at the end of Billy Ocean's spectacular run of '80s hits that started in 1984 with "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)." He seemed to come out of nowhere but had been recording since the mid-'70s and even had a hit with "Love Really Hurts Without You" in 1976. In the '90s he didn't record much and became very family focused, but he continued to put out new music in the ensuing decades.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.