Samuel L. Manning, also known as Sam Manning, was born circa 1898 in Couva, Trinidad, a performer and songwriter who became one of the earliest calypsonians to achieve international recognition. Before his music career, he worked as a chauffeur and jockey and served in the British military during World War I. In the early 1920s, Manning moved to Harlem, New York, where he combined jazz and calypso rhythms in his performances and recordings for OKeh and Paramount record labels. His music gained popularity with black American audiences and expatriate West Indians. He made his Broadway debut in 1925 in Processional and wrote "Lieutenant Julian" (1928) to commemorate the 1929 transatlantic flight by Trinidadian Hubert Fauntleroy Julian. In 1947, he wrote and directed Caribbean Carnival, billed as the "First Calypso Musical Ever Presented." Manning died in 1960 while traveling in Africa.
