It’s a little lost to history these days, but “Rum and Coca Cola” was an enormous hit for the Andrew Sisters in 1945. Their version offered to postwar Americans a singable, dance-able appropriation of Trinidadian calypso–just as Caribbean travel and Coca Cola were coming to represent American dominance in all things political, economic and cultural. But the song’s lyrics, as well as its history of breached copyright, carries layers upon layers of the tragedies impacting families in the wake of the imposition of the US military on the island of Trinidad. Artist Deanne Achong reflects on these layers in Workin’ for the Yankee Dollar. In this video Achong explains this artist book and the stories behind it. It was recorded at a reading event during Art Book Month in 2020.
