HARRY BELAFONTE
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life of a well-loved singer. Harold George "Harry" Bellanfanti, Jr., better known as Harry
Belafonte, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and social
activist.
Harry
Belafonte’s remarkable career as a singer and entertainer is surpassed only by
his accomplishments as an advocate for human rights. Born in Harlem, Belafonte
lived with his grandmother in her native Jamaica during his formative years,
where he was exposed to traditional Caribbean music. Returning to New York in
his teens, Belafonte graduated from George Washington High School before
serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII.
Belafonte
signed to Victor in 1952, but made his first big splash with Calypso in 1956. The LP
brought both the singer and Caribbean music to a significantly wider audience,
becoming the first album in U.S. history to sell one million copies in a year
and earning Belafonte his title as “King of Calypso.”
This marked
America’s first mainstream exposure to music of the Caribbean and prefigured
its eventual infusion into jazz, R&B, and rock. Songs like “Banana Boat
(Day-O)” and “Jump in the Line” became hi-fi party staples. As Belafonte
enjoyed widespread critical and commercial success, he also became an
uncompromisingly vocal participant in the Civil Rights movement. He refused to
perform in the segregated South during the late 1950s and established a
meaningful friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr.
In fact,
Belafonte constantly placed himself on the front lines for such moments,
performing at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, becoming a leading critic of
Apartheid in South Africa, roundly lambasting America’s foreign policies during
the War on Terror, and serving his post as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since
1987.
In addition to
becoming the figure most closely identified with calypso music, even to the
present day, Belafonte dedicated his career to exploring Western music in all
its forms, dabbling in blues, gospel, folk, and standards to equal acclaim.
Over a recording, performing, and acting career spanning a staggering seven
decades, Belafonte has been the recipient of an Emmy, a Tony, three Grammys (a
Lifetime Achievement Award among them), and a National Medal of Arts.
Clancy's comment: He was one of my favourites as a kid, and a man who has been highly successful in more ways than one.
I'm ...
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