Belafonte died of congestive heart failure at his home in New York on Tuesday with his wife Pamela by his side, the firm of his longtime spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement. (Variety)
He was one of the most famous singers of the 50s and 60s. His album 'Calypso' was the first by an artist to sell more than a million copies.
As a Black leading man who explored racial themes in 1950s movies, Belafonte would later move on to working with his friend Martin Luther King Jr. during the U.S. civil rights movement in the early 1960s. He became the driving force behind the celebrity-studded, famine-fighting hit song “We Are the World” in the 1980s.
An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe, handsome Belafonte became one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics.
As his career stretched into the new millennium, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.
An intimate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Belafonte was an important voice in the ’60s civil rights movement, and he later embarked on charitable activities on behalf of underdeveloped African nations. He was an outspoken opponent of South Africa’s apartheid policies.
Harry Belafonte, the 96-year-old musician, activist, and actor, received on Nov 2022, the Early Influence Award at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
And to mark the occasion, Legacy Recordings has announced the repressing of two of the artist’s most influential albums, Belafonte Sings the Blues and Belafonte at Carnegie Hall.
Harold George Belafonte Jr. was born in New York but was sent to live with his grandmother in Jamaica at age 5
In a statement, Belafonte said of the HOF acknowledgment: “Thank you, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, for honoring me with this induction. It’s always a thrill to know the music I presented to the world so many years ago still resonates to this day.”
Belafonte has been breaking records and breaking down barriers since his unparalleled career began in the 1950s. Known for his lyrical baritone and emotive sound, Belafonte redefined black culture as he introduced many Americans to it while using his art as an instrument of social change on a global scale.
Belafonte Sings the Blues and Belafonte at Carnegie Hall are both widely celebrated for Belafonte’s vocal performances and the benchmark audio quality of the recordings. A rarity for the time, Carnegie Hall was one of the first popular live concert albums to be released. It stayed on the charts for over three years and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1959 Grammy Awards. It was released as a double LP and featured a 47-piece orchestra. (Americansongwriter)
