Calypso (album)
| Calypso | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Harry Belafonte | ||||
| Released | 1956 | |||
| Recorded | August 18, October 20, November 9, 1955 at Webster Hall, New York City | |||
| Genre | Vocal jazz, mento, calypso, Jamaican folk music | |||
| Length | 31:23 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor record; LPM-1248 | |||
| Producer | Ed Welker, Herman Diaz Jr., Henri René | |||
| Harry Belafonte chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
Calypso is the 3rd album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LPM-1248) in 1956. The CD was released on April 28, 1992 . It is the first full-length gramophone LP to sell over one million copies (the singles Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" had surpassed 1 million copies previously). The album is number four on Billboard's "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts.
Contents |
[edit] The tracks
The first track, "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)" largely contributed to the success of the album and it is still the song for which Harry Belafonte is best known, reaching number five on Billboard's Pop chart.
It is a traditional Jamaican folk song not a calypso, sung from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. Daylight has come, the shift is over, and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home (this is the meaning of the lyric "Come, Mr. Tally Man, tally me banana / Daylight come and me wan' go home.")
The song was also used in a famous dinner scene in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.
The third track, "Jamaica Farewell", is another calypso folk song about the beauties of the West Indian islands and a love left behind. This was the first album on which it was published. It reached number fourteen on Billboard's Pop chart, becoming the second hit from the album.
"Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" is featured in both The Simpsons and I Love Lucy.
[edit] Track listing
- "Day-O" (Banana Boat Song) (William Attaway, Harry Belafonte) – 3:02
- "I Do Adore Her" (Lord Burgess) – 2:48
- "Jamaica Farewell" (Lord Burgess) – 3:02
- "Will His Love Be Like His Rum?" (Attaway, Belafonte) – 2:33
- "Dolly Dawn" (Lord Burgess) – 3:13
- "Star-O" (Attaway, Belafonte) – 2:02
- "The Jack-Ass Song" (Lord Burgess, Attaway) – 2:52
- "Hosanna" (Lord Burgess, Attaway) – 2:34
- "Come Back Liza" (Lord Burgess, Attaway) – 3:03
- "Brown Skin Girl" (Norman Span) – 2:43
- "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" (Norman Span) – 3:31
[edit] Personnel
- Harry Belafonte – vocals
- Millard J. Thomas – guitar (1, 4, 6 ,7)
- Frantz Casseus – guitar
- Tony Scott and His Orchestra (2 ,3 ,5 ,8 ,9 ,10 ,11)
- The Norman Luboff Choir (8, 9, 10)
Production notes:
- Ed Welker – producer
- Herman Diaz Jr. – producer
- Henri René – producer ("Man Smart (Woman Smarter)")
- Tony Scott – conductor
- Broc Peters – chorus leader
- Roy Stevens – cover photo
- William Attaway – liner notes
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
||||||||
