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Harry Belafonte (1927 -)
Harry Belafonte was born Harold George Belafonte in Harlem in 1927. Belafonte was the son of a Jamaican father and a Martinique mother.
When he was nine years old, Belafonte lived in Jamaica for a while before returning to the USA, namely New York, to attend high school. Sadly, due to problems with dyslexia, Belafonte dropped out of high school and at the age of 17, he joined the US Navy for a couple of years. After that, he returned to New York and settled there. Belafonte became involved with the American Negro Theatre and soon began singing in clubs around the city. Another business pursuit was a restaurant called 'The Sage' that he opened with friends in Greenwich Village. He would regale customers with performances of folk songs after closing.
Belafonte got a recording contract with RCA after performing at the Village Vanguard under the management of Jack Rollins. Rollins actively encouraged Belafonte to find his own style of singing and this he did.
By 1954 Belafonte was a singer and an actor starring in films including 'Carmen Jones' and 'The Brighter Road'. Along with this, he had a hit album called 'Calypso' on RCA as well as two subsequent albums, 'Jamaica Farewell' and 'Banana Boat'. These too were hits. His biggest hit tune to date is 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)' .
Belafonte debuted in Europe in 1958 touring major cities such as London, Paris and Berlin. During the period of 1954 to 1961, Belafonte refused to perform in the racially segregated South of the USA and during this time he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1956, Belafonte met Martin Luther King Jr and the two became friends.
1959 saw Belafonte create his own production company, Harbel, producing movies and TV shows by and about African-Americans.
During the 1960s Belafonte recorded all genres of albums including Gospel and Protest songs. The latter were probably a reflection of his political activity as Belafonte was very politically active working as a cultural adviser to the Peace Corps, chairing the New York State Martin Luther King Jr Commission and founding the Institute for Non-Violence.
In 1985, it was Belafonte who came up with the idea for the song 'We Are The world' to help raise funds for the famine affected people of Ethiopia. The record generated more than 70 million dollars.
Belafonte became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1987 and chaired the welcoming committee for Nelson Mandela's visit to the USA in 1988.
To this day, Belafonte is still performing and is still politically active. He has been honoured by numerous organisations such as the NAACP, the National Conference of Black Mayors and the US State Department. Belafonte has also received awards such as the Albert Einstein Award, the Martin Lither King Peace Prize and he was the first recipient of the Nelson Mandela Courage Award. From 'Calypso King' to activist, Belafonte has and still is leading by example in life.
Sources:
http://imusic.artistdirect.com/showcase/contemporary/harrybelafonte.html
http://www.bayarea.net/~floor13/music/harry.htm
http://www.jerseycity.k12.nj.us/blackhistorymonth/harry_belafonte.htm
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