Plymouth Monsterrat (March 17th 2016):- Soca King and mainstream soca pioneer Aphonsus “Arrow” Cassel was on Wednesday Evening March the 16th officially named and bestowed with the prestigious honor of Order of National Hero. The historic moment took place during the the third Annual Montserrat National Honors and Awards ceremony. The event saw the honoring of eight Montserratians at the Montserrat Cultural Centre.
Arrow was awarded and recognized for his unmatched and outstanding contribution to culture in the field of calypso and especially his unparalleled international achievement in the genre of soca. His song Hot-Hot-Hot has been sung in many languages world-wide.
Arrow rose to prominence when he recorded the internationally acclaimed “Hot, Hot, Hot” in 1982 which became the anthem of soca. Even after his death in 2010, his music continued to receive international recognition. A remake of his global hit single was recognized at an awards ceremony in the United States earlier this year. The cover version of “Hot Hot Hot” which was recorded in 2013 by reggaeton artistes Don Omar was honored at the annual Latin Music Awards organized by The American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP). The remake version, which is titled “Feeling Hot”, was singled out as one of the top urban singles songs in ASCAPS’s Latin repertoire in 2013 after peaking at No.22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
Prior to his death the hit “Hot Hot Hot” and Arrow received other accolades. He was the first Soca Artiste to ever perform at the Reggae Sunsplash in both England and Jamaica and to have sold over 4 million records. Prior to Don Omar’s version, the song, which has sold over 10,000,000 copies worldwide was covered by numerous artistes including Buster Poindexter (whose version peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts).
The awards honored Montserratians who have selflessly contributed and committed to the development and advancement of Montserrat.
Other awards and awardees included The Order of Merit awarded to Verna West and Margaret Elwin. This is awarded to a Montserratian for meritorious contribution to national development in the field of arts, science, commerce, sports, education, governance, philanthropy, community service or any related area.
Verna West for over 30 years of dedicated service to education.
Margaret Elwin for decades of selflessness and her commitment to the poor and unfortunate
The Order of Distinction was awarded to Jewelline Roberts-Riley, Emmanuel Galloway and Cedric Os-borne. This is awarded to a Montserratian who in any field, has given distinguished and outstanding service; or has attained remarkable achievement at the national level or made remarkable contribution on a national level.
Jewelline Roberts-Riley for years of service to the community, most notably continuing performance in cultural development.
Emmanuel Galloway for services to community in building and construction and commerce.
Cedric Osborne for over 4 decades service in the areas of community service, tourism and business.
The Order of Excellence was awarded to D.R.V. Franklyn Edwards and P.Austin Bramble. This is awarded to a Montserratian who, by extraordinary and unwavering commitment and devoted and distinguished service has contributed significantly to the development of Montserrat and positively projected its image; or for excep-tional achievements in any field or discipline at the national, regional or international level.
D.R.V. Franklyn Edwards for service to Montserrat in the areas of sports, politics, humanitarianism and commerce.
P. Austin Bramble for his political leadership, education of nationals and economic recov-ery with a medical school.
The National Honours and awards were created to foster patriotism and national pride in Montserrat. They pay a distinguished tribute to those who have dedicated their lives for the betterment of Monsterrat.