Harry Belafonte
Sign in to saveAmerican singer, actor and civil rights activist (1927–2023)
AI overview
Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who became famous in the 20th century, particularly known for popularizing Caribbean music styles like calypso. He is remembered not only for his influential entertainment career but also for his lifelong commitment to fighting racial injustice and social inequality.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 930,949
- Total plays
- 7,252,620
Tags
calypsooldies60sswingfolk
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in Harlem, NYC, on 1 March 1927; died 25 April 2023) was an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Caribbean-American pop star, he popularized Jamaican mento folk songs which was marketed as Trinbagonian Calypso musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso, released in 1956, was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Harry+B
Article
Harry Belafonte (/ˌbɛləˈfɒnti/ BEL-ə-FON-tee; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte's career breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
Belafonte was best known for his recordings of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", "Jamaica Farewell", and "Mary's Boy Child". He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). He made his final feature film appearance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018).
Gallery (12)
Connections
Categories
1927 births2023 deaths20th-century American male actors20th-century American male singers20th-century American singers21st-century American memoiristsActivists for African-American civil rightsAfrican-American CatholicsAmerican anti-war activistsAmerican calypsoniansAmerican civil rights activistsAmerican feminist musicians