EORGETOWN Guyana. CMC – One of Guyana’s cultural icons, Dave Martins, died on Sunday at the age of 90. The cause of death was not immediately known, but in recent years, he had dementia.
Dave Martins and The Tradewinds became a household name, especially in the 1980s, when he composed and sang ‘Not A Blade of Grass,’ which mobilized Guyanese across the divide against Venezuela’s nagging claim to the Essequibo Region.
His other songs include “Honeymooning Couple,” “Cricket in the Jungle,” “Civilisation,” “It’s Traditional,” “Copycats,” “Guyana Coming Back,” “Wong Ping,” and West Indian Alphabet.”
In 2022, the University of Guyana conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.
“Dave captured the essence of the Caribbean spirit and its identity, blending upbeat rhythms with biting satire that spoke to our hearts and minds. His music invited us to laugh at ourselves and encouraged us to stand tall and be proud of our Guyanese and Caribbean heritage, “said President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton said Martins’s death was a great loss to the country.
“‘He is one of our cultural icons and one of the men who took a lot of Guyanese culture and put it into music, and wherever you went in the world, you could have related to it and be proud of it.”
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