Calypso (album)
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Calypso is the third studio album by recording artist Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor (LPM-1248) in 1956. The album became his second consecutive number-one album on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, where it stayed for 31 consecutive weeks.
Album information
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 third track, "Jamaica Farewell", is a 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 14 on Billboard's Pop chart, becoming the second hit from the album.
Reception
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Calypso is the first LP album to sell over one million copies. Several singles, including Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," 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. Allmusic gave the album 5 stars out of 5 and called it, "a record of inestimable influence".
Popular culture
"Day-O" was used in a dinner scene in the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice. "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" was also featured in Beetlejuice as well as The Simpsons and I Love Lucy episodes.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" | Traditional, arranged by William Attaway, Harry Belafonte, Lord Burgess | 3:02 |
| 2. | "I Do Adore Her" | Lord Burgess | 2:48 |
| 3. | "Jamaica Farewell" | Lord Burgess | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Will His Love Be Like His Rum?" | Attaway, Belafonte | 2:33 |
| 5. | "Dolly Dawn" | Lord Burgess | 3:13 |
| 6. | "Star O" | Harry Belafonte, Lord Burgess, William Attaway | 2:02 |
| 7. | "The Jack-Ass Song" | Lord Burgess, William Attaway | 2:52 |
| 8. | "Hosanna" | Lord Burgess, William Attaway | 2:34 |
| 9. | "Come Back Liza" | Lord Burgess, William Attaway | 3:03 |
| 10. | "Brown Skin Girl" | Norman Span | 2:43 |
| 11. | "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" | Norman Span | 3:31 |
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