Bewitching voice and charming physique, Harry Belafonte, nicknamed “the king of calypso”, rose to fame in the 1950s and marked his time with his humanitarian convictions and his fight for civil rights in the United States. The iconic singer died on Tuesday at the age of 96, his agent told Agence France-Presse. “Renowned singer, actor […], legendary civil rights figure, Harry Belafonte died this morning of heart failure at his New York home,” his wife Pamela by his side, she said in a statement. .
Born in Harlem on March 1, 1927 to a Jamaican mother and a Martinican father, the singer spoke for these rhythms with “Matilda”, “Day-O”, “Island in the Sun”, “Jamaica Farewell”, “Try to Remember”, or “Coconut Woman”. It was as a child, when he lived in Jamaica, that George “Harry” Belafonte discovered calypso, a music with West African influences born in the carnivals of Trinidad and Tobago, which will seduce the American public with its exoticism.
Returning to the United States, he joined the Black Theater in Harlem after the war and staged several plays with his lifelong friend Sidney Poitier, before embarking on music, where his charisma and his vocal qualities brought him rapid success, which will be the springboard for its commitment against racial segregation. First a singer of ballads in cabarets, he made his mark in the early 1950s with a popular repertoire that mixed influences from American variety, Caribbean music and black culture from Harlem. In 1955, he triumphed with the title “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and the album Calypso (1956) became the first in history to sell more than one million copies. He filled the halls and his recordings, including six gold records, were a worldwide success and earned him several Grammy Awards in 1960.
But the young man is not content to be a symbol. Quickly, he financed the campaign for civil rights and became close to Martin Luther King Jr. “When people think of activism, they always think that it involves sacrifices, but I have always considered it a privilege and an opportunity he said in a 2004 speech at Emory University. In 1963, he raised 50,000 dollars, the equivalent of almost 500,000 today, to get out of Martin Luther King prison, at a time when artists were pocketing comfortable incomes. “I could have made 2 or 3 billion and ended up with some cruel addiction, but I chose to be a civil rights fighter instead,” he explained in a 2007 interview with the Guardian.
Suspicious of politicians, he had met John Kennedy in 1960, inviting the then presidential candidate to his home. He was initially unconvinced by the senator seeking support, later reporting that Kennedy “knew very little about the black community.” But, once elected, “JFK” appointed him Peace Corps Cultural Attaché. Later, in 1987, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef. He spent time in Africa, notably in Kenya, and campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. In 1988, he dedicated his last album, Paradise in Gazankulu, to this cause. He is the main promoter of “We are the World”, sung in 1985 by 45 American artists raising funds to fight the famine in Ethiopia.
After opposing the war in Iraq, in 2006 he accused President George W. Bush of being a “terrorist”, no better, he said, than Osama bin Laden. He also takes controversial positions, getting angry with the heirs of Martin Luther King who criticize in particular his admiration for the Venezuelan Hugo Chavez or reproaching in 2012 the wealthy black couple Jay Z and Beyoncé for having “turned their backs on social responsibilities”.
The dyslexic artist, who was not betting on success after dropping out of high school, serving in the army or working as a janitor, was showered with prestigious awards at the end of his life. Thus, in 2014, the Academy awarded him an honorary Oscar because “from the start of his career he chose projects highlighting racism and inequalities”.
Married three times, Harry Belafonte had three daughters and a son from his first two wives.