Harry Belafonte
Singer, actor and activist who brought calypso to the world and cut the first million-selling solo LP.
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Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor and civil rights activist who carried calypso music to international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. His album Calypso (1956) was the first LP by a single artist to sell a million copies. He is remembered for "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", "Jamaica Farewell", "Jump in the Line" and "Mary's Boy Child", but he also sang blues, folk, gospel, show tunes and standards. On screen he appeared in Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957) and Buck and the Preacher (1972), and he was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr.
Lore & Background
Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in Harlem on March 1, 1927, to Jamaican-born parents. From 1932 to 1940 he lived with a grandmother in Jamaica and attended Wolmer's Schools. Back in New York he left high school, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later worked as a janitor's assistant; a tenant's gift of tickets to the American Negro Theater sparked his love of the stage and a friendship with Sidney Poitier.
He studied acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School under Erwin Piscator. Singing in clubs to fund those classes, he first performed backed by Charlie Parker's band, recorded pop for the Roost label in 1949, then turned to folk, debuting at The Village Vanguard. He signed with RCA Victor in 1953.
Did You Know?
- "Matilda", recorded April 27, 1953, became his signature sing-along number in concert.
- He and Sidney Poitier once shared a single theatre seat, swapping places between acts.
- He holds all four of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, though the Oscar was non-competitive.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Harry Belafonte (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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