Love and Happiness Era with Don Silverfox

By William Doyle-Marshall

   Remember the days of the two tone shoes and the Blue Gardenia dances? That’s when young ladies frowned on any young man who failed to meet the dressing standards?  If you don’t, then you are too young. Those were the hey days in Trinidad and Tobago and indeed the Caribbean when you had to know your dance steps. If you stepped on a girl’s feet once that’s the end of your dancing chances. Even worse, you did not even think of saying “hello” to her or her friends. You would be banished in that circle.

    Well, a group of Canadians with Trinidad and Tobago connections are reintroducing that experience to real dance lovers as an end of summer venture. “I feel pretty confident in that I think we are going to be unique with what we are doing because you don’t get a concert, dinner and dance; you are not going to get the kind of music we are providing for dancing at all, says Trinidadian impresario and headline performer of that era, Don (Ali) Silverfox. Based on a really fantastic reception he received from a Queen’s Hall and Port of Spain Central Bank auditorium audiences, Silverfox has decided to undertake this Canadian venture. “I was told that nobody in Trinidad was doing what I did and I am saying the same thing is happening up here. I don’t know anybody who does what I do. The era of what I do up here, I don’t know anybody who does it,” Silverfox concurs.

   The September 17^th Nostalgia III is a formal evening of Concert, Dinner and Dance at the Thornhill Community Centre between 6:00pm and 1:00 a.m. The show will include performances in Spanish, Italian and English -- to illustrate the performer’s expertise and a little difference compared to regular pops and ballads entertainers. In addition, songs are being chosen to encourage audience participation. Don promises his repertoire for that night will evolve around compositions with which members of the audience will be familiar.

   Sel Duncan’s “Concert Hall Medley”: is lined up to begin dancing feet slowly moving on the dance floor on that special night. Tan Tan by Fitz Vaughn Bryan, Stormy Weather by the Dutchy Brothers and Clarence Curvan’s “Delicado” are among favourites that will be dusted off and spun for the crowd’s delight.

    Caribbeanites starving for the type of musical offerings synonymous with tender, loving moments will be in for a special treat on September 17 at the Thornhill Community Center. It will be a case of rekindling flames they may have thrown out with the dreams. Don Silverfox is dusting off his musical tracks and preparing his vocal chords to entertain music lovers. The Producers of Nostalgia III are promising Golden Pops and Ballads by Don – a nominee for the Canadian GMA Covenant Award. It will certainly be an opportunity to dance to some favourite bands of the era like Stanley Black, Los Indios Tabajares, Clarence Curvan, Dutchy Brothers, Perez Prado and more.

   Don first hit the stage at age six and ten years later he had already   performed live concerts, on radio to an audience at one point estimated at 10,000. By 17 he was introduced to live television and appeared at popular night clubs throughout the City of Port of Spain. Performing on stage with the Light Operatic Society provided Don a vehicle to appear in the internationally renowned Pirates of Penzance, Chu Chin Chou and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Nostalgia III is a continuation of Don Silverfox’ youthful ambition to command centre stage with an appreciative audience.