Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte,Jamaica Farewell,live

https://youtu.be/X-PTafd-ymQ

Harry Belafonte - Banana Boat Song (live) 1997

https://youtu.be/9L9angh4KdQ
https://youtu.be/6Tou8-Cz8is

Harry Belafonte

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"Belafonte" redirects here. For his album, see Belafonte (album).

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Harry Belafonte
Belafonte at the Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party, 2011
Born	Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr. March 1, 1927 (age 88) Harlem, Manhattan, New York City New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Harold George Belefonte, Jr. Harry Belafonte, Jr.
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actor, social activist
Years active	1947–present
Spouse(s)	Marguerite Byrd (1948–57) Julie Robinson (1957–2004) Pamela Frank (2008–present)
Website	www.singyoursongthemovie.com

Harold George "Harry" Bellanfanti, Jr. (born March 1, 1927), better known as Harry Belafonte, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist. One of the most successful Caribbean American pop stars in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) is the first million selling album by a single artist.^[1] Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". He has recorded in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He has also starred in several films, most notably in Otto Preminger's hit musical Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957) and Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).
Belafonte was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and '60s, and one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s confidants. Throughout his career he has been an advocate for humanitarian causes, such as the anti-apartheid movement and USA for Africa. Since 1987 he has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In recent years he has been a vocal critic of the policies of both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidential administrations. Harry Belafonte now acts as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.^[2]
Belafonte has won three Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Emmy Award,^[3] and a Tony Award. In 1989 he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards. ^[4]

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Music career
  • 2.1 Calypso
  • 2.2 Middle career
  • 2.3 Later recordings and other activities
• 3 Film career
• 4 Personal life
• 5 Political and humanitarian activism
  • 5.1 Civil Rights Movement activist
  • 5.2 Humanitarian activist
  • 5.3 Political activist
  • 5.4 Opposition to the George W. Bush administration
  • 5.5 Obama administration
• 6 Discography
• 7 Filmography
• 8 Television work
• 9 Concert videos
• 10 Stage work
• 11 See also
• 12 References
• 13 Further reading
• 14 External links

HARRY BELAFONTE - Jamaica Farewell (1956)

"Jamaica Farewell" is a mento^[1] about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.

The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie). Lord Burgess was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926. His mother was fromBarbados and his father was from Virginia. The song first appeared on Harry Belafonte's phenomenally successful album Calypso. It reached number fourteen on Billboard's Pop chart.

Though many, including Belafonte himself, have said that the song was popular in the West Indies since long before Burgess, it is believed that Burgess compiled and modified the song from many folk pieces to make a new song, and it is indubitable that it was Belafonte who popularised the song outside the Caribbean Islands. Burgess acknowledged his use of the tune of another mento, "Iron Bar".^[1]

The Kingston Trio, who led the folk revival of the late 1950s, took their name from the title of this song, though they only recorded it many years later, in 2006.

Other well-known singers of "Jamaica Farewell" include Sir Lancelot, Jimmy Buffett, Sam Cooke, Nina & Frederik, Pat Rolle, Carly Simon, Nuttea, Caetano Veloso and Sting who covered the song while playing a melody of his own "Can't Stand Losing You / Reggatta de Blanc" while still with The Police in 1983. Ray Conniff and James Last orchestras have performed the song as well, on their albums "Happiness Is" (1966) and "Music From Across The Way" (1971), respectively. The Jukebox Band perform this song in a Shining Time Station episode: Bully for Mr. Conductor.

The term "Ackee" from the line "ackee, rice, saltfish is nice" refers to the fruit of a tropical tree indigenous to the Ivory Coast and Gold Coast of West Africa; taken to Jamaica in 1793. It has some poisonous properties, yet if properly prepared the fruit is quite good and is a part of the national dish "ackee and saltfish".

This song has been translated into many languages. For example, in Bengali, there exist several translations, some of which are quite well known. One Bengali version of the song became an important anthem for the Naxalite revolutionary movement in the 1970s and thus has significance for Bengali intellectuals in Kolkata society. Famous Bangladeshi band “Souls” also sang their own translated version in early 1990s which instantly became hit in Bangladesh and is still celebrated by the music lovers in Bangladesh.

Please click on the web-linkbelow with speakers on :-

https://youtu.be/a729JpSFxf4

Lyrics

Down the way where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Sounds of laughter everywhere
And the dancing girls swaying to and fro
I must declare my heart is there
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Down at the market you can hear
Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
'Akey' rice, salt fish are nice
And the rum is fine any time of year

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Down the way where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town

Ah, Harry Belafonte... 85 now, we see him age here.

email from Piyusha Atapattu	7:29 AM (22 hours ago)
One of the loveliest voices ever...    Walk back, down memory lane....      One of Harry Belafonte's best .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTDvCLAT8hg

P.S.
I remember this song performed by a Sri Lankan artist at the 1962 "Block Concert" of the 1960 entrants batch to the Medical Faculty, Colombo. The 'Profumo scandal' was the talk of the town those days. In the same concert the Late Dr. Karthigesu performed in an act as 'Dr. Profumo' and the ever funny Geri Jayasekara took on the role of 'Ms. Christine Keeler'. The audience was rolling in laughter. Those were the days.