The 96-year-old musician and performer Harry Belafonte used his success as a Calypso sensation to promote charitable and civil rights causes.
“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” “Jamaica Farewell,” and “Jump in the Line” are a few of the songs by Belafonte that are well-known. ”. Congestive heart failure was the cause of death, his spokesperson Ken Sunshine told the New York Times. He passed away in his Manhattan residence.
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Belafonte, the son of low-income Caribbean immigrants, was born on March 1st, 1927, in Harlem, New York City. Before moving back to New York City in the 1940s, he spent a significant portion of his formative years there with his grandmother.
He acknowledged in an interview with People Magazine that his formative years were “the most trying times of my life. ”. My mother was very sad that I was left alone, even though she loved me, the author stated.
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He graduated early from high school in order to join the Navy during World War II. He returned to New York after his service was over to pursue a career in theater. According to Biography, Marlon Brando and Walter Matthau attended the same drama school as Belafonte.
He also became well-known as a jazz club performer at the same time, thanks to Miles Davis and Charlie Parker among other musicians.
For his Broadway debut performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, Belafonte won a Tony Award. He quickly became famous thanks to his roles opposite Dorothy Dandridge in films like the musical Carmen Jones.
He also contributed to the globalization of traditional Trinbagonian Calypso music. His 1956 release Calypso was a big hit and the first to sell one million copies. The song he made popular, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” was also included. ”.
The New York Times later quoted Belafonte as saying, “That song is a way of life. It is a song about my parents, grandparents, and uncles as well as the Jamaican men and women who toil in the cane and banana fields.
He created history when, in 1959, he won an Emmy for his television show Revlon Revue: Tonight with Belafonte.
Despite being referred to as the “King of Calypso,” Belafonte was also well-known for being an activist his entire life.
Robert Kennedy Jr. and him became close pals. and actively supported the US civil rights movement by taking part in a variety of protests and rallies. Actor and social activist Paul Robeson served as his mentor.
Paul Robeson was the first significant formative influence on me; you could say he gave me my backbone, according to Belafonte, who later stated in his autobiography. Martin Luther King Jr. was the next. He gave me strength.
King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington, which he assisted in planning. Additionally, he supported voter registration drives and the 1961 Freedom Rides. He raised funds to free other civil rights activists in addition to getting MLK released on bail.
Belafonte continued to be an activist throughout his entire life. He put together a supergroup of well-known musicians to record “We Are the World” in the 1980s for the African famine relief effort. The song went on to become one of the all-time best-selling singles and to raise more than $10 million when it was released.
In addition to being active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, he was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War.
Modern-day admiration for Belafonte is based on both his unwavering dedication to the civil rights movement and his innovative music.
He has won numerous lifetime achievement honors, including the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989, the National Medal of Arts in 1994, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, and the honorary Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He became the oldest living member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 after being inducted.
Greetings to Harry Belafonte and peace to you. an incredible musician who dedicated his life to upholding his principles.
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