Growing up in a Jamaican household with lots of music, Harry Belafonte was a big part of my parents musical culture. As a result, I had all of his popular songs ingrained in my head.
I also got to meet and work with Mr Belafonte briefly while I was recording the soundtrack for the movie 'Beat Street' which he is listed as a Producer. That was a very inspirational time for me.
So to honor his legacy I put together some of his achievements below.
Harry Belafonte was an American singer, songwriter, activist, and actor born in Harlem in 1927.
Born of Jamaican decent, He became one of the most successful and influential American pop stars in music history making and popularizing Jamaican Classics such as
-The Banana Boat song
-Jump In the Line
-Jamaica Farewell
-Man Smart (Woman Smarter).
-Matilda
- Mr. Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing that Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s.
- His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) is the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
- Belafonte is best known for his recording of "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O".
- Belafonte won three Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.
- He starred in several films, including Otto Preminger's 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 1960s, and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s close confidants. Throughout his career, he was an advocate for political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and USA for Africa. Since 1987, was been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
- Mr Belafonte had a major involvement with Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie's iconic 'We Are The World by USA for Africa"
- Mr Belafonte was also the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
- 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.
- In March 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Mr Belafonte died on April 25 2023 at the age of 96 years. This man has led an amazing life,
written by Lee Evans
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