Rest in peace Harry
The great Harry Belafonte, known for his prowess as a singer, actor and civil rights activist, has left this world at the age of 96 at his home in New York, according to his manager, Ken Sunshine. Born in the Harlem district in 1927 to a Jamaican mother and French father from Martinique, he spent most of his childhood in Jamaica before returning to New York, which influenced his music and his fight for racial equality. With the success of the album "Calypso" in 1956, Belafonte rose to fame with songs such as "Jamaica Farewell", which became very popular in the post-World War II era of prosperity and growth of the cities. His calypso music, a genre that fused West African and French influences, catapulted him to fame and allowed him to include the iconic "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" on his album. Belafonte never shied away from controversy, starring in the 1957 film "Island in the Sun", in which he played a black politician on a fictional isl...