Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Second rate reporter says what?

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

No one could have predicted…

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

We still have time to mess this up!

The words do not have to be perfect.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

The revolution will be supervised.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Rest In Peace, Harry Belafonte

Rest In Peace, Harry Belafonte

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Rest In Peace, Harry Belafonte

I grew up with Harry Belafonte and his music – my mom absolutely loved him and loved his music.

Great man, truth teller, trailblazer.  I love him in this song with the Muppets.

If you only watch one video, watch this one:

I hope you can take a few minutes and read this article, if you haven’t seen it already.

‘The Sit-In’: Revisit the ‘Lost’ Week in 1968 When Harry Belafonte Hosted ‘The Tonight Show’

Non Muppet Version of Day-O

Classics – Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

The Midnight Special

Harry Belafonte & Falumi Prince – Turn the World Around (Live)

Turn the World Around with the Muppets  (I can’t find the full version, if you find it, add the link in the comments.)

11 Turn the World Around – Harry Belafonte (Jim Henson’s Memorial Service)

Jamaica Farewell

Harry Belafonte and Danny Kaye sing Hava Nagila in 1965.

I hope we can all share our memories of Harry Belafonte, going him a proper send-off.

Rest in Peace, Harry.

Reader Interactions

66Comments

  1. 1.

    Juju

    My favorite Harry Belafonte muppet song is “Turn the World Around “. I could watch that one over and over again.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    “Day-O” has always given me the feels — such a plaintive chorus — and I am sobbing now.

  7. 7.

    oldster

    I loved many of his songs. This one showcases the flawlessness of his voice — a simple arrangement, no fireworks, nothing to hide behind, just pure singing. His vibrato does have an unfortunate tendency to make me sob, but that’s my problem, not his.

    https://youtu.be/h2rax2xnyZk

  10. 10.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I couldn’t find the full version of the Muppets’ performance of “Turn the World Around”, but I did find the version he sang at Jim Henson’s memorial … haunting.

  11. 11.

    prostratedragon

    Just absorbing this news. I remember seeing some of his Tonight Show week — I was in high school — and how high-quality it was. Another good movie he was in, and which was largely his production, is Odds Against Tomorrow. RIP

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    The epitome of grace.  He had a good long life, and used his talents to benefit us all.

  15. 15.

    oldster

    A little math tells me that he was 52 in that first Muppet clip. I don’t know how you looked at 52, but I can tell you that I did not look like that.

    Of course, I did not look like that at 32, either. But I’d like to think that he aged well due to clean living and a righteous heart.

  17. 17.

    Salty Sam

    My first wife LOVED Harry Belafonte’s music.., so much so that we used it as background music before her funeral.  Some questioned that choice, but having her casket procession into the church to the “Banana Boat Song” was <chef’s kiss> perfect…

    I did have to restrain myself from doing Katherine O’Hara’s dance (from Beetlejuice) to it.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Salty Sam: Absolutely appropriate.  I wore my very loud Mariners shirt (mostly screaming blue) to my Mom’s memorial service, because she just loved that shirt.

  22. 22.

    TooTallTom

    My folks had his Christmas album. Mary’s Boy Child & I heard the bells on Christmas day. Just glorious.

  27. 27.

    EarthWindFire

    I’m reading Jeff Shartlet’s The Undertow. He opens the book with a Harry Belafonte interview. What use of talent in service of righteous anger.

  28. 28.

    Noah Brand

    Conversations I believe must have happened:

     

    Sidney Poitier: Say, Harry, I’m directing a Western, about some of the struggles our people faced on the frontier. It’s called BUCK AND THE PREACHER. I’m playing Buck… want to play the Preacher?

     

    Harry Belafonte: Now, Sidney, is there any nudity in this role? Because you know how I feel about that.

     

    Poitier: No, no nudity, just some good old Western shootouts, some laughs, and maybe a little message.

     

    Belafonte: Well, I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that.

     

    Poitier: Ugh, fine, you can have one nude scene.

     

    Belafonte: Like, full-on nude, right? Flashing my ass at the whole audience?

     

    Poitier: I said yes already, dammit, let’s just make this movie.

  29. 29.

    RL

    I was playing a big tribute concert and he was one of the presenters. I was just a drummer for one among several acts – but backstage, HE came up to ME and thanked me for my “artistry.” One of the most humbling, amazing moments. So cool.

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    RIP

     

    I am ashamed that I only found out about him hosting The Tonight Show maybe 2 years ago. Watching those clips was amazing.

  31. 31.

    West of the Rockies

    OT, so question… is DeSantis Pompeo without the charm, or is Pompeo DeSantis sans charisma?

  37. 37.

    raven

    Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President George W. Bush, his administration and the Iraq War. During an interview with Ted Leitner for San Diego’s 760 KFMB, on October 10, 2002, Belafonte referred to a quote made by Malcolm X.[49] Belafonte said:

    There is an old saying, in the days of slavery. There were those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master, do exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. That gave you privilege. Colin Powell is committed to come into the house of the master, as long as he would serve the master, according to the master’s purpose. And when Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don’t hear much from those who live in the pasture.

  38. 38.

    Argiope

    My daughter, at around age 4, became captivated by his name and would walk around randomly shouting “Harry Belafonte!”  At 20, she’s sad to hear he’s left us.  As are her parents.

  39. 39.

    Anonymous At Work

    Beetlejuice, both the Banana Boat song and Jump in the Line.  And no reason to celebrate both scenes.  There’s a pretty good line between Banana Boat scene and Everything Everywhere At Once.

  41. 41.

    MisterDancer

    @raven: And when Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don’t hear much from those who live in the pasture.

    Turned out so true for Powell, and Michael Steele as well.

  43. 43.

    Anotherlurker

    Mr Belafonte was an amazing musician, activist and all around wonderful human being.

    His voice and his social conscience influenced many to get involved and make their voices heard.

    On a personal note, “Jamaica Farewell” is a song that has spoken to me since I was 7 or 8 years old.  I could hear the sadness the voice felt about leaving his loved one but I could also hear happiness that he felt at the life he led.  I asked my mother to buy me the 45 and she happily complied. She loved Harry Belafonte too.

    50 years later, “Jamaica Farewell” inspired me to take up the guitar.  I am now 71, a 3 and 4 chord guy and that song launches the same feelings in me as it did the first time I heard it, all those years ago.

    Thank you, Harry, for a lifetime of inspiration and listening pleasure.

  44. 44.

    Splitting Image

    Along with his magnificent voice, Belafonte had one of the most uplifting smiles I’ve ever seen. Just seeing the man smile made me happier.

    You can’t really complain about reaching 96, but it’s still a sad day.

  45. 45.

    Ajabu

    Just peripheral but…

    As a child in Jamaica, at age 10, I got my first job. Before school, at 4 AM I had to go to the docks for my job as Spider Boy. I was given a flashlight and a stick. My job was to brush tarantulas off the bananas before they were loaded on the boat. I certainly could relate to ” daylight come and me.wan’ go home.”

  46. 46.

    BlueGuitarist

    Looking forward to reading his book, My Song: A Memoir of Art, Race, and Defiance; learning more about his important role in the Civil Rights movement, especially with SNCC.
    Have a vague memory of a radio interview in which he talked about being surprised arriving in the US to find we let the radio do our singing for us instead of singing ourselves.

    Bob Dylan’s first officially recorded performance: playing harmonica for Harry Belafonte’s Midnight Special.

  50. 50.

    Maxim

    @Ajabu: I do not envy you that job.

    I had never heard of Belafonte’s week on The Tonight Show. I think it says a lot about the man he was that (a) the powers that be permitted it, and (b) it was a ratings success.

    Thank you, sir, for everything.

  51. 51.

    Manyakitty

    @WaterGirl: My grandma had a party record with him singing “There’s a Hole in the Bucket.” I listened to it all the time growing up. And now I’m crying, too.

  52. 52.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    God, he was a handsome man! Along with being a great singer and civil rights figure and a wonderful guy in general.  Just had to say it. I bet all the white women who loved him and his music pissed off a lot of racists in the 50s and 60s.

  53. 53.

    Anotherlurker

    @WaterGirl: Not specifically the Ed Sullivan Show version.  The song just inspired my emotional response through the various arrangements I have enjoyed over the years.

    BTW, that is a very impressive set that they used. From the art direction of the set pieces, the movements of the extras to the use of rear screen projection.  It was a beautiful piece of theatrical art and technology.

  54. 54.

    JustRuss

    My mom was also a huge Belafonte fan. Possibly because of this we had a student from the Caribbean live with us for a couple years, which was a great experience for kids living in a very white neighborhood.  Years later she befriended a Calypso performer who came through town, he would always get in touch when he was in the area, really fun to hang out with.

  56. 56.

    zhena gogolia

    Oh, that Muppet video is great. I’ll have to watch these later when I’m not supposed to be working. I love when the tarantula pops up on his shoulder!

  58. 58.

    TriassicSands

    Belafonte was also quite critical, rightfully so, of Barack Obama. On the other hand, he (Belafonte) embraced foreign leaders whose actions failed to match their rhetoric (Castro, Chavez, etc.).

    He also was critical of the nation’s first African American president, saying that “for all of his smoothness and intellect, Barack Obama seems to lack a fundamental empathy with the dispossessed, be they White or Black.” — WaPo

    No president is perfect and as the first African American president,  Obama faced pressures and criticisms  no other president has faced. However, he was far from perfect, a description that fits Belafonte and all of the rest of us, too.

    My mother, a southern racist, swooned over Belafonte, whose popularity as a singer was overshadowed, if not as widely recognized by his contributions to the Civil Rights movement.

  59. 59.

    Orange is the New Red

    I love Mr. Belafonte’s voice, and appreciate him hugely for introducing Miriam Makeba to a US audience.

  60. 60.

    Ihop

    My aunt and uncle introduced me as a boy to his “Belafonte at Carnegie hall” album. Such a lovely performance.

    Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela

    Indeed.

  63. 63.

    StringOnAStick

    He was the soundtrack to my pre and post kindergarten years; I loved his music then and still do.  Jamaica Fairwell came up at my music group last month and I went to the Mic for the first time to sing it; it felt so good to hear him in my head as I sang it since it had been years.

    Rest in power, Sir.

  64. 64.

    Sandia Blanca

    @Ihop: That Carnegie Hall album was the soundtrack of my early years. I memorized every song, mimicking the different accents he employed. When I was a bit older, my parents took me to hear him live at the Hollywood Bowl. What an evening! On the way home I was singing “Zombie Jamboree” until my mother explained it wasn’t really suitable for my youthful stylings.

    Harry Belafonte inspired me to learn more about the world beyond my white middle-class Orange County neighborhood. Rest in peace, sir.

  65. 65.

    SmallAxe

    I was working the door at the Ritz DC in the early 90s and he and his family came to stay when he was a Kennedy Center honoree. He was one of a handful of celebrities I met that had electric charisma. Literally lit up the room when he walked in. All eyes upon him, just radiant positive energy out of an average size human. Always polite in addressing staff as well. One of the few that left an indelible impression on me. Whatever “it” is, he had it. RIP Mr Belafonte, thank you sir

  66. 66.

    Sourmash

    My favorite memory of Mr. Belafonte was when Colin Powell was serving as a useful idiot in the drive to war in Iraq, “Belafonte said: “In the days of slavery there were those slaves who lived on the plantation, and those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master, exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. Colin Powell is committed to come into the house of the master.””

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/oct/11/news

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