RAS SHORTY  I  (aka LORD SHORTY) REAL NAME: Garfield Blackman DATE OF BIRTH: 1941 PLACE OF BIRTH: ..., Trinidad EDUCATION: ... CAREER:                                   Blackman began his career as Lord Shorty in the early 1960s and first caught the public's ear in 1963 with "Cloak and Dagger." He was widely accepted as the first calypsonian to produce a new beat by integrating the East Indian percussion instruments with the traditional calypso rhythm. He called the new beat soca: the soul of calypso. His song "Endless Vibrations" is widely believed to be the first that introduced the soca beat. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone and bone marrow) in May 2000. His other calypsoes include: 1973 - Indrani 1976 - Second Fiddle 1984 - Zena; Om Shanti; Money Eh No Problem 1997 - Watch Out My Children DIED: July 12, 2000 Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit