Slinger Francisco was born in the fishing village of Grand Roy, Grenada, West Indies on July 9, 1935. He moved to Trinidad as a one-year-old with his mother, his father having relocated there in 1937. He grew up in Port of Spain. He began singing as a small child, but his love of calypso was discouraged while at Newtown Boys Catholic School, where he sang in the choir. At the age of 14 he joined a steel band comprising neighbourhood boys, and performed with the band at Carnival.