Soca’s Steelpan Origins #1: First Echo on the Panorama Stage - Soca on the Steelpan

First Soca Played for Panorama #1

Calling All Soca and Steelband Historians—Let’s Set the Record Straight! Help Us Find Panorama’s Original Soca Tune. We are on a mission to solve this mystery, but first we must tell you that we have already written a post about the first song we think was played for the Panorama competition. After a discussion with my Kulture Krazy Encyclopedia, Mr. Kenny Phillips, we have a song, a steel band, and an arranger that we believe were the first to play Soca for Panorama. We may be wrong, but we will post it next. If we get something wrong and you help clarify the facts, everyone benefits.

We have framed some questions below. Please send your information to sokah2soca@gmail.com or panyardvibes@gmail.com.

• The name of the song?
• What is the name of the steelband that played it?
• Who produced the song/Riddim?
• The arranger for the Steelband
• The year it was performed?

This is more than trivia—it’s a chance to honor pioneers who fused steel and Soca to forever shift Carnival’s soundscape. Whether you lived it, studied it, or just love a good musical mystery… drop your knowledge in the comments or tag someone who might know

Let's acknowledge and honor the origins of our rhythm! We will wait to see if your responses pan out with our thinking. Having said that, we promise to share our post with our fans and if we get it wrong, we won't pretend otherwise. 

Now, since the song, band, and arranger are all unknown, it is interesting to add some spice to the discussion. You need some music, so we have aptly selected "Unknown Band" by the artist who was then known as "Blue Boy" and is now known as "Super Blue." No, we are not suggesting that this song is the first Soca played by a steelband for Panorama. This post is just a teaser!

Let us spread awareness of the Caribbean diaspora's culture.

Our goal is to promote Caribbean culture, musicians, and music producers. We are able to honor and promote the rich sounds and tales of the Caribbean thanks to your support. Together, we can ensure that this rich cultural legacy continues to reach a wider audience and foster creativity and connections. While you should always buy music for sale, you should avoid sharing promotional music because it denies songwriters, producers, and artists important revenue.  Please be aware that all of our posts are available online via social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, and SoundCloud. We recommend exploring your favorite content on FeedSpot/RSS Feed, Threads, Bluesky, and Twitter/X, including email subscriptions. Thank you in advance.

Production Notes/Music Credits:

Title: Soca Soca played for Panorama

Origin: Trinidad, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago

Genre: Soca/Steelband 🎶

Sokah2Soca—Where Rhythm Lives and Calypso, Steelband Music and Soca Thrive!

🎧 Listen. Share. Amplify. Our artists embody culture not only during Carnival but on a daily basis.

We present the music here for your listening pleasure and promotional purposes only, adhering to the "Fair Use" Musical Content Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. Sokah2Soca/Soca Music Blog © 1990 by Santiwah is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-SA/4.0/.

♫Please click the small triangle button in the music player below to listen now.

Read More