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American Singer Harry Belafonte Died At The Age Of 96

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American singer Harry Belafonte died Tuesday at his Upper West Side home at the age of 96. The cause of death was congestive heart failure Belafonte made a splash in Hollywood in the 1950s, becoming a star with his hit songs Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) and Jump in the Line

The Jamaican American singer-songwriter and activist became the first Black person to win an Emmy Award in 1960.

Harry Belafonte music helped break Caribbean music through to a global audience, and whose humanitarian efforts changed the world.

Reps for the musician confirmed in a press release that Belafonte died Tuesday morning “of congestive heart failure at his New York home at the age of 96, his wife Pamela [Frank] by his side.”

Last year, the “Jump in the Line” performer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. He was the oldest living person to join the organization.

In 1956, he released Calypso, which topped the Billboard charts and sold more than 1 million copies, earning him the nickname “King of Calypso.”

The album contained timeless hits such as “Day-O (Banana Boat Song),” a traditional Jamaican folk song that would go on to become Belafonte’s signature track. Belafonte’s version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009.

In 2019, Belafonte told the Library of Congress that he received pushback from “everybody” at the time for wanting to record an album of calypso songs.

“They thought me doing it was an affront to the many great calypso artists,” he said. “That I was invading somehow. But I had this history in my back pocket. I had grown up in the Caribbean and in Jamaica and I thought it was a good idea… Well, the authorities at RCA didn’t. They said it would have no audience. It was just not a recognized genre in that day.”

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