Let's see how he's remembered in the jukebox, starting with Tony Bennett, making up his own lyrics to a classic...
And if I never had a cent
I'd be rich as Harry Belafonte
With Barry Goldwater at my feet
On the sunny side of the street
Goldwater was a conservative Republican whom, I imagine, Harry had little time for.
Quite a lot of rappers name-drop Harry, understandably given his prominent civil rights activism over the years. Here's Black Thought from The Roots with Danger Mouse...
Ayo, don't even worry 'bout it, my legendary stylin'
Between Harry Belafonte and Harry Allen
And here's some proper Old Skool, more my vintage...
If you compare the Big Daddy to a Caddy
I'd be an Allante, suave as Belafonte
Interplanetary and extraordinary
Whether rap or country, Harry was important to them all...
Raindrops thumping on my white-walled Chrysler
I'm keeping rhythm with the window wipers
Farmland's drinking every drop that falls
Lightning dancing to the fiddler's call
Black baby squeeze a hot dog bun
Grandpa's got wrinkles from too much sun
Harry Belafonte and the Dixie Dregs
Everybody's drinking from the same cold kegs
Meanwhile, Aussie rockers The Church place Harry in very fine company...
Brian Wilson and William Tell
We welcome you
Harry Belafonte and Alexander Bell
We welcome you
Archangel Gabriel and Richard Hell
We welcome
And Tom Miller
...while Jonathan Richman supported many of the same causes.
So join Nelson Mandela
And Susan Sarandon
Join Harry Belafonte as the list goes on and on
And protest with a letter, or maybe a phone call
For there on death row, stands Abu Jamal
It seems like everyone wants to be as cool as Harry. Even the Fratellis...
Well, I'm gonna be imperious
I'm gonna be the next Harry Belafonte!
Today belong to Joe Strummer though, who mentions Harry in not one, but two, of his tunes. Let's face it, if Joe Strummer namedrops you twice, you must be a legend.
Somebody's got to draw a line somewhere,
And it might as well be Harry Belafonte
Because the noise inspectors with the sound detectors
Were coming on down the beach
And the counselors wanna pounce on us
There we go disturbing the peace
And the Cornish sun had only just begun
To sink into the western sea
So to keep it low so the cops don't know
I spun my Harry Belafonte
Not everyone was a Belafonte fan. There was some resentment in the calypso community in Trinidad who rightly or wrongly felt he had ripped them off. In his tribute to the late Lord Melody (writer of 'Mama Look A Boo Boo' and other Belafonte hits, the Mighty Sparrow sang:
ReplyDeleteBelafonte must give an explanation
Come out and say what happened to Melo's millions
Harry is a multi-millionaire New Yorker
Melo was a poor man and he died a pauper
Tell Harry for me that Lord Melody
Was calling his name out in the cemetery
Here's the link to 'Play One For Melo': https://youtu.be/SEx2DFGtMuI
Interesting. Clearly my research wasn't thorough enough this time (when is it?). Thanks for providing another viewpoint, Ernie.
DeleteYou are too modest about your always impeccable research. I only know about this one because I have an extensive Mighty Sparrow collection, not sure how you find out about it otherwise.
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