{"id":9625,"date":"2023-04-25T16:14:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T16:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/?p=9625"},"modified":"2023-07-18T23:23:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T23:23:35","slug":"harry-belafonte-dies-at-96-the-life-and-career-of-trailblazing-musician-performer-and-activist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/harry-belafonte-dies-at-96-the-life-and-career-of-trailblazing-musician-performer-and-activist\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Belafonte Dies At 96: The Life And Career Of Trailblazing Musician, Performer, And Activist<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NBCU Photo Bank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Actor, singer, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte died Tuesday at 96. Regarded as one of the most successful Caribbean-American musicians in history, Belafonte was a trailblazer as an artist, performer, and activist. He was one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood as he gained recognition during the 1950s and 1960s. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belafonte was born in New York but grew up in Jamaica with his grandmother until he returned to New York for high school.  However, Jamaica\u2019s calypso influence would serve as the necessary foundation for his future career as a musician.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belafonte\u2019s prolific singing career began at New York\u2019s Royal Roost as a nightclub singer. In 1949, he made his recording debut on Roost Records, and he became more attracted to the world of American folk music. His first national tour led to him being noticed by a scout for the production company MGM, which later earned him a role in the 1953 film \u201cBright Road\u201d with Dorothy Dandridge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same year, he received the Tony Award for the best performance by a featured actor in a musical for his role in \u201cJohn Murray Anderson\u2019s Almanac.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1954, Belafonte made his RCA Records debut with \u201cMark Twain and Other Folk Favorites.\u201d His folk LP that was released two years later, titled simply \u201cBelafonte,\u201d became a success. It spent six weeks as No. 1 on the charts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, both collections were only preparation for his arguably most famous album of 1956, \u201cCalypso.\u201d Deemed as the \u201cCalypso King,\u201d Belafonte ignited a nationwide calypso fever, with the album spending an astounding 31 weeks at No. 1. Still today, it is one of the four longest-running chart-toppers in the history of music. Included on the \u201cCalypso\u201d album is Belafonte\u2019s popular \u201cBanana Boat Song (Day-O).\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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