I enjoyed this a lot. I grew up listening to his music, which my parents loved. Belafonte was a beautiful man too. I love Dao and Jamaica Farewell. We would sing those at family gatherings. Thank you, Andrew.
While I would quibble with the characterization that Belafonte wasn't a great singer, your essay hits on a central fact about him, which is that few had such a profound impact on our cultural life. Belafonte has received his laurels the past few days and they are all well deserved. As Sidney Poitier said of his long-time friend, "we owe him so much."
I can remember when Belafonte burst on the scene and recall reading a novel that I think he later starred in. I was captivated by his voice before I ever saw him because he was an original and introduced songs that were not part of the culture. When he became an activist I admired him for his convictions. We lost someone great whose words still have meaning. Thank you for this.
More beautiful than (dare I say it?) Ali. My only quibble with your excellent elegy is that I would rank him as a great singer. His version of Cucurucucu Paloma is better than the Pedro Infante original, not bad for a non-native Spanish speaker.
Why Harry Belafonte Broke Through the Race Barrier When Others Could Not
I enjoyed this a lot. I grew up listening to his music, which my parents loved. Belafonte was a beautiful man too. I love Dao and Jamaica Farewell. We would sing those at family gatherings. Thank you, Andrew.
More Odetta in the world - great thoughts and piece :)
While I would quibble with the characterization that Belafonte wasn't a great singer, your essay hits on a central fact about him, which is that few had such a profound impact on our cultural life. Belafonte has received his laurels the past few days and they are all well deserved. As Sidney Poitier said of his long-time friend, "we owe him so much."
I can remember when Belafonte burst on the scene and recall reading a novel that I think he later starred in. I was captivated by his voice before I ever saw him because he was an original and introduced songs that were not part of the culture. When he became an activist I admired him for his convictions. We lost someone great whose words still have meaning. Thank you for this.
Lovely tribute with some interesting tidbits. Holding on to that 64 year old album is indicative of his cultural impact.
More beautiful than (dare I say it?) Ali. My only quibble with your excellent elegy is that I would rank him as a great singer. His version of Cucurucucu Paloma is better than the Pedro Infante original, not bad for a non-native Spanish speaker.
Excited to lean into this one sir