Calypso groups and artists from Bermuda?s golden era of live music are to be commemorated by a Masterworks Foundation exhibition to be staged this spring. Home-grown talent that once spread the name of the Island far and wide, leading to many Bermudian musicians being heavily feted in the US, Canada, England and elsewhere, will be featured in the project that has been underway since last summer.

Ironically, many of the Island?s yesteryear artists and stars to be featured have been highlighted in recent days by those questioning the idea of Masterworks? proposed plaque in the Botanical Gardens to mark the spot where former Beatle John Lennon found inspiration for his final album before his assassination in 1980.

Responding to a fear that Bermuda?s own musical legends will soon vanish into the mists of time, Masterworks has been working on its ?Ambassadors of Song? exhibition since last July and a great deal of the work has been undertaken by former broadcaster and singer Webster B. Tucker.

It has been a struggle collecting the memorabilia and anecdotes from the relevant period from the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the 1960s, and Mr. Tucker has been tracking down the few surviving musicians or their immediate relatives to secure their stories for posterity.

When the exhibition is staged it will feature a video installation mocked up to appear as a glimpse into a typical Bermudian music venue of the time with rare footage of the likes of The Talbot Brothers.

Arguably Bermuda?s biggest stars from the era, The Talbot Brothers ? who appeared on the famed Ed Sullivan Show some ten years before The Beatles ? are a key component in the project.

?They were the quintessential ambassadors for the Island,? said Tom Butterfield, Masterworks founder and director, explaining the aim to coincide the exhibition with the annual Ross (Blackie) Talbot Charity Golf Tournament.

?The reason for the project is to share this era that people do not know about.?

Fellow director Elise Outerbridge said: ?We are paying homage to all the bands and artists of that time. This is an exhibition to show what Bermuda music is all about, for people who were not around in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and also bringing back a lot of old memories for others.

?This whole story is very quickly slipping away and we need to capture it now. We also find that, as with art, music brings people together whatever their background.?

With some 40 years of knowledge to draw upon as a broadcaster and singer, Mr. Tucker?s contribution to the project cannot be underestimated nor his enthusiasm doubted.

He runs through a list of artists from The Talbot Brothers to the Four Deuces, Sydney Bean, Lance Hayward, the Esso Steel Band, The Travellers, Gene Steede, Rudolph Commissiong, Hubert Smith, Al Harris, Kingsley Swan Sr. and The Bermuda Strollers.

Many of these musicians were self taught, an example being Roy Talbot ? the last surviving member of the original Talbot Brothers group ? who played a one stringed bass, points out Mr. Tucker, who has stories of how the Talbot Brothers started out by singing harmonies to their mother?s piano playing.

?They appealed to tourists and used to go overseas, playing in the US and Canada and at the London Palladium. One time a guy flew them in a seaplane over to Rhode Island to play a private party for one night,? he said.

?Then you have guys like the late Sydney Bean. I have hit roadblocks trying to get information to him, but now I?ve managed to reach one of his nieces and will interview her.?

Other artists being featured are the Four Deuces, a black calypso band who provided entertainment for overseas black visitors. And then there was the great Lance Hayward, a blind pianist who could not find work until he went to New York where he become ?an icon? on the city?s music scene.

The Masterworks team hope that residents with information and memorabilia will come forward to help fill in some of the gaps before the exhibition is staged.

One question Mr. Tucker would like answered is the mystery of which band played at Albuoy?s Point when the cruise ship the Queen of Bermuda sailed from the harbour for the last time, and also information on the more than 40 venues where live music was played regularly through the era.

It is intended the exhibition, which is being funded by the Bank of Butterfield and is due to open on March 31, will eventually tour schools and possibly hotels and other venues.

And if all goes to plan a compilation CD featuring music from the bygone Bermudian artists will be offered for sale.