NEW YORK CITY, 1949: In addition to the five tracks he recorded for Roost Records, Harry Belafonte’s reluctant foray into the realm of music included two sessions for Pete Rugolo at Capitol Records. Much like Five Early Songs, this release also features Belafonte the Crooner ironically coupled with a calypso artist, in this instance the magnificent Lord Flea and his Calypsonians. This offers another revealing glimpse into the inspiration that would guide Harry toward superstardom. You can tell how influential Lord Flea’s version of Jump in the Line was on Belafonte’s own landmark hit, and many of their remaining tunes here -- Monkey, Love Alone, Naughty Little Flea, I Can’t Cross Over, Out De Fire and Donkey Bray -- were later performed not only by Belafonte, but also contemporaries such as Miriam Makeba (stay tuned for our upcoming blog, Six Months of Makeba!).
I will readily admit that this is not my preferred era of Harry’s remarkable career. The music still has too much of a Forties vibe to it, and it feels as though the tunes would be more comfortable finding their way out of a Victrola gramophone’s speaker. This is no fault of Belafonte’s, whose voice is incredible as ever. But this is a strange and unfamiliar Belafonte; were one not there at the time to appreciate his debut, it’s difficult to re-frame his music into the proper context. Every track on this and his other 1949 release are like a window into another dimension’s version of Harry Belafonte; it’s pleasurable, but a little discomforting in how disparate it seems from the Belafonte we know and love. Nevertheless, you can't help but marvel at the voice on these freshman releases: with no musical training whatsoever (and at this point, no desire to be a singer as other than a means to make ends meet), he comes out of the gate rivaling most crooners at the peak of their careers.
I will readily admit that this is not my preferred era of Harry’s remarkable career. The music still has too much of a Forties vibe to it, and it feels as though the tunes would be more comfortable finding their way out of a Victrola gramophone’s speaker. This is no fault of Belafonte’s, whose voice is incredible as ever. But this is a strange and unfamiliar Belafonte; were one not there at the time to appreciate his debut, it’s difficult to re-frame his music into the proper context. Every track on this and his other 1949 release are like a window into another dimension’s version of Harry Belafonte; it’s pleasurable, but a little discomforting in how disparate it seems from the Belafonte we know and love. Nevertheless, you can't help but marvel at the voice on these freshman releases: with no musical training whatsoever (and at this point, no desire to be a singer as other than a means to make ends meet), he comes out of the gate rivaling most crooners at the peak of their careers.
Most of the tracks run the spectrum of dirge-like (Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child) to dirge-like love ballads (Deep is the River, I Still Get a Thrill). These aren’t the songs you put on to give yourself an energetic boost or to experience the art of another culture; this is a release that you’d put on while sitting alone and slowly killing yourself with scotch, cigarettes and memories of love gone wrong and you can't find your copy of Sinatra's No One Cares.
The exception to this:
Whispering stands out from the pack as a peppy big band tune that one could just as easily envision the Andrews Sisters singing in the background of an episode of M*A*S*H as Hawkeye heads to The Swamp to tie on a bathtub gin martini before engaging in psychological warfare with Frank Burns. Belafonte and the orchestra display every bit as much synergy as ever did Ol’ Blue Eyes and Nelson Riddle’s crew. Were it not for Harry getting the notion to use his new career as a platform for conveying the stories that he loved from his youth, Whispering is typical of what we would have seen more of from him, putting him in direct competition with the likes of Nat King Cole.
Next week we’ll examine how Harry branched into his personal interests and established himself as the premiere folklorist of his time with Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites. In the meantime, if you want to talk Belafonte, leave a comment below!
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