Tradewinds: The Book

From 1966 until about 2015, my father Dave Martins led a West Indian band named the Tradewinds that was initially based in Toronto, then the Cayman Islands. The band, and my father’s songs, became a significant cultural force throughout much of the Caribbean. The Calypso, Reggae, and Soca music (many examples are on YouTube) championed and occasionally critiqued the West Indian way of life; the lasting and uplifting impact is still felt today in much of the region and particularly in my father’s home country of Guyana, where he currently lives.

To chronicle all of this, I’m writing a book about the history of the Tradewinds — the music, the touring, the recording, and more — that will include some exploration of how my father developed into a beloved West Indian songwriter only after moving to Canada, where he lived for some 35 years. (That’s him in the glasses on the album cover below.)

For those on Facebook, there’s also a page there where you can track development of the project. Search for “Tradewinds: The Book.”