Harry Belafonte’s musical and cultural Impact spotlighted on upcoming anthology

WHEN COLORS COME TOGETHER…THE LEGACY OF HARRY BELAFONTE SET FOR RELEASE 2/24

“JUMP IN THE LINE,” “TURN THE WORLD AROUND,” “SCARLET RIBBONS (FOR HER HAIR),” “THOSE THREE ON MY MIND” ARE AMONG HIS HISTORIC SONGS IN THE COLLECTION

NEW TRACK “WHEN COLORS COME TOGETHER (OUR ISLAND IN THE SUN)” REIMAGINES

HIS 1957 VERSION

Rolling Stone debuts clips of Belafonte discussing how diversifying his songs and pulling inspiration from different cultures helped him fuse art and activism and combat racism. See it here

EGOT Harry Belafonte, known more these days as one of the nation’s leading activists, has a colossal musical legacy that will be in the spotlight when his forthcoming anthology, When Colors Come Together… The Legacy of Harry Belafonte is released on February, 24^th. Belafonte, who was the first artist of any race or gender to sell one million records with his hit album “Calypso,” had songs featured on albums that topped the newly formed Billboard charts, (“Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)”, made statements about racial unity (“Turn the World Around,” “When Colors Come Together (Our Island in the Sun)) and civil rights (Those Three On My Mind)and had a nation singing along over 30 years after its original release (“Jump In The Line”).

“When Colors Come Together (Our Island In The Sun)” (2017)

Exclusively for this album, Executive Producer David Belafonte (son of Harry Belafonte), arranged for a multi-cultural children’s choir to remake Belafonte’s original “Island in the Sun,” specifically for its message of diversity to introduce kids to Belafonte’s music and the concept of racial and gender diversity. The original recording of the song (co-written by Belafonte and Irving Burgie) served as the title music for the highly successful and at-the-time controversial 1957 film about interracial relationships, “Island In The Sun,” which starred Belafonte, James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Joan Collins and Dorothy Dandridge.

Listen to the new track here:

“Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)” (1956 – Belafonte)

This song was featured on the album “Belafonte” released on March 24, 1956. Belafonte was his second studio album and was released at the end of 1955. The album was the first album to be listed as number one on the newly formed Billboard Top Pop Albums chart (now known as the Billboard 200), topping the chart for six weeks before being knocked out of the top spot by Elvis Presley’s self-titled debut album. (Source: Billboard)

“Turn The World Around” (1977 – Turn The World Around)

Turn the World Around was Belafonte’s return to folk music after a series of pop albums. But it was when Belafonte performed the song on the Muppet Show in 1979, Jim Henson’s team gave Belafonte the opportunity to explain the African origins of the song and created original Muppets with African masks perform alongside Belafonte.

“Those Three Are On My Mind” (1967 – Belafonte On Campus)

This song was originally written by Pete Seeger and Frances Parker and recorded by Belafonte in 1967 to commemorate the lives of James Chaney, Andrew Goldman and Michael Schwerner, three civil rights workers murdered by Klansmen in Mississippi in 1964. The three young civil rights workers were working to register black voters in Mississippi. Belafonte who had a major presence as part of the Civil Rights Movement, from helping to organize the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 to supporting Dr. King’s strategy. He said in a recent NY Times “Lions of New York” interview, “I threw my lot in with him completely, put a fortune behind the movement. Whatever money I had saved went for bonds and bail and rent, money for guys to get in their car and go wherever.”

“Jump In The Line” (1961 – Jump Up Calypso)

Featured on Belafonte’s #3 album, “Jump In The Line” gained renewed popularity again in 1988 when it was featured in “Beetlejuice” starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.