Mighty Dictator

{{Short description|Trinidadian calypso singer and musician (1920s – 2002)}}

Kenneth St. Bernard ({{circa}} 1920s – 19 December 2002), known as Dictator or Mighty Dictator, was a Trinidadian calypso singer and musician.

By the late 1940s, St. Bernard was a prominent composer and performer of calypso songs, including "The Female Cricketer" (1948), "The Tobago Girl and the Mirror", "Negroes Keep Together" (both 1949), and "My Trip to Hollywood" (1950).[http://www.bestoftrinidad.com/calypso/dictator.html Ronald C. Emrit, "Mighty Dictator", BestofTrinidad.com]. Retrieved 30 October 2023. In 1950, the song "Last Train to San Fernando", which he performed and co-wrote, was played in the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Road March. Later recorded by The Duke of Iron, it became a skiffle hit in Britain when recorded by Johnny Duncan.{{cite book|title=Cross the Water Blues: African American Music in Europe|author=Wynn, N.A.|date=2010|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=9781604735475|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMaszIALuVYC&pg=PA177|page=177|access-date=30 October 2023}}[https://www.peterguralnick.com/post/45907088950/guest-blogger-colin-escott-last-train-to-san Colin Escott, "Last Train to San Fernando", PeterGuralnick.com]. Retrieved 30 October 2023. His later recordings included "Chinese Cricket Match" (1956).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FdiCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Dictator%22+%22Chinese+Cricket+Match%22&pg=PA141|title=Calypso and Other Music of Trinidad, 1912-1962: An Annotated Discography - Google Books|website=google.co.uk|date=30 April 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786478514 |access-date=30 October 2023}} Dictator was one of six calypso performers presented to Princess Margaret in 1956.

He died in Trinidad on 19 December 2002.[http://news.gov.tt/sites/default/files/E-Gazette/Gazette%202007/Gazette%20No.%2024%20of%202007.pdf Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, No.24 vol.46, 8 February 2007, p.95]. Retrieved 30 October 2023.