Civil rights activist and vocal legend Harry Belafonte has passed away at the age of 96.
Belafonte, the "King of Calypso," was also known over the years as an actor, producer, U.S. military veteran, and EGOT winner. He was born March 1, 1927, in Harlem, NY to Jamaican-born parents Harold Sr. and Melvine Love.
After attending school in Jamaica and New York, Harry began singing in New York clubs to help pay for acting classes, and notably first took the stage backed by the Charlie Parker Band, featuring sax player Parker, drummer Max Roach, trumpet player Miles Davis and more. Belafonte would also perform in numerous films and television specials throughout the late-50s and early '60s and became the first Jamaican-American to win an Emmy.
Following his breakout as a singer with his beloved "Banana Boat Song (Day O)," Belafonte became a friend and close ally of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.
Belafonte also guest-hosted The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson a number of times, interviewing guests such as MLK Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy among others.
In 2013, Belafonte was named one of three Grand Marshals of the New York City LGBTQ+ Pride Parade. “I wasn’t an artist who’d become an activist,” Belafonte wrote in his 2011 memoir, My Song. “I was an activist who’d become an artist.”
Harry passed at 96 on Tuesday morning, April 25, of congestive heart failure while in his Upper West Side New York City home with his wife Pamela at his side.
Learn more about the life of Harry Belafonte in the episode of Meet The Musician below.
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