#rip harry belafonte

[aiiaiiiyo]

[duranduratulsa]

On the turntable today...

Look What The Cat Dragged In by Poison (1987)

Jump Up Calypso by Harry Belafonte (1961)

Sonic Temple by The Cult

Storm Front by Billy Joel (1989)

#poison #lookwhatthecatdraggedin #HarryBelafonte #ripharrybelafonte #jumpupcalypso #TheCult #sonictemple #billyjoel #stormfront #60s #80s #records #album #LP #vinyl #vinylrecords

[courtleymanor]

BeetleJuice (1988) - Day-O (Banana Boat Song)

R.I.P. Harry Belafonte (March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023)

[fashionartfilmalien]

EGOT winning iconic actor, singer, progressive human rights activist Harry Belafonte B. March 1, 1927 D. April 25, 2023. Rest in Power. Sit In is a great documentary about Harry Belafonte who hosted The Tonight Show for one week, stepping in for Johnny Carson. At a time when the country was scorched in protests against the Vietnam War, and race riots, Belafonte created a politically progressive, open minded, conscious, and captivating platform.

[yadivagirl]

When Jacob Artist (Jake Puckerman) first appeared on Glee, he immediately reminded me of Harry Belafonte.

[mixdgrlproblems]

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A post shared by Mixed Girl Problems (@mixdgrlprblems)

Today we lost a legend. #HarryBelafonte was a #mixed #American singer, actor & activist, who popularized calypso with international audiences in the 50s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. He was best known for his recordings of "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature "Day-O" lyric, "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)" & others. He recorded & performed in many genres, like blues, folk, gospel, show tunes & American standards. He starred in several films, including Carmen Jones with #DorothyDandridge (1954), Island in the Sun (1957) & Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).

He was born on March 1, 1927, in Harlem, the son of #Martiniquean born father, Harold George Bellanfanti Sr., who worked as a chef & #Jamaican born Melvine (née Love), a housekeeper. Both of his parents were mixed. His mother was #Scottish & #AfroJamaican. His father was #BlackAmerican & #DutchJewish with #SephardicJewish descent.

Growing up, Harry dealt with hostility, racism & discrimination; sometimes it came from his own home. His family lived in a mostly White neighborhood which subjected him to bullies, his family was in poverty & to make matters worse, Harry Sr. was hostile with his wife & showed favoritism toward Harry's younger brother, Dennis, because he was lighter skinned. His father was a #colorist & had marked caste ideals. When he was 6, his father ran off with a White woman, leaving them to fend on their own. This left quite a void as well as anger, confusion about his identity & loneliness.

Fortunately, his mother raised him with dignity & care & was the total opposite of Harry Sr. but when the bullying at school turned into fighting & joining a gang, his mother moved them to Jamaica. She hoped a new environment would help Harry but unfortunately his relatives had the same ideals as his father, the #British culture was different & he was homesick. If it weren't for calypso, he would have had a different end. After school, he joined the Navy during WWII but when he had the chance to see the American Negro Theater, he found his passion.

He was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. RIP. 🇯🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇳🇱

[darylelockhart]

There will never be another era like this.

[its-a-livie]

Listening to banan boat song now

[kyonkyonson]

The full scene deserves to be shared

Harry Belafonte, the Muppet Show Behind the Scenes

[untouchable234]

R.I.P. Harry Belafonte, The one and only King of Calypso. You didn’t just “jump in the line”, you fronted it

[asmallexperiment]

My first tendency is always to think of Harry Belafonte in this kind of setting, clearly after his peak as a popular artist, but still able to convey his stories to the generations (like mine) that came later.

[asmallexperiment]

I have a recollection of singing "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jamaica Farewell" in school as a kid; that's how embedded in my life Harry Belafonte was.

Before all that, of course, he had already lived a remarkable life. Getting into music to get a little spare cash to support a kick-around early career as an actor, when Lester Young recommended him to Monte Kay and had the greatest first-gig backing band in history, famously accompanied by Charlie Parker, Al Haig, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach. His career was amazing, popularizing Calypso for an American audience, winning a Tony, a film career that went from starring in "Carmen Jones" to his role in "BlacKKKlansman." I don't even know what else you would throw in the topline: singing at JFK's inauguration, maybe the most famous Muppets sketch ever, guest-hosting The Tonight Show, being a Lifetime Grammy winner.

And that's before you get to him bankrolling and helping organize some of the most important civil rights protests of the early 60s. And that was a light he carried throughout his life; the guy who starred in an Otto Preminger film worked on humanitarian efforts in Africa well into the 21st century.

(via Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist - The New York Times)

Harry Belafonte, who stormed the pop charts and smashed racial barriers in the 1950s with his highly personal brand of folk music, and who went on to become a dynamic force in the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 96.

also: that mic

[destinyc1020]

🥺🥺😭

[marcusbelafonte]

March 1st, 1927 - April 25, 2023

RIP to the great Harry Belafonte.

What a life.

Daylight come and me wan’ go home.