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Harry Belafonte
Beyond this label, the "King of Calypso" proved to be a protean singer of folk
and pop in the 1950s and 1960s, in addition to his commitment to civil rights.
Born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in New York's Harlem district on March 1,
1927, to a maid and a cook of Jamaican and Dutch descent, he spent part of his
childhood with his grandmother in Jamaica, where he immersed himself in the
Caribbean musical tradition. Returning to the U.S. in 1944, he took drama
classes and rubbed shoulders with the artistic world of musical comedy. After
joining Monte Kay's Royal Roost, he sang on ...
