Really thorough and well-written, thank you. Love the personal anecdote of Belafonte records as a special treat growing up visiting relatives. That's how I feel about Bill Withers :)
There is absolutely an appetite for longer form/deep dives into less traveled corners of music, and I am always happy to help more people find your work!
My parents used to play the double album live at Carnegie Hall all the time when I was a kid. I wouldn't listen to it on purpose, but I saw the album among my mother's records the other day and I can hear pretty much every song in my mind. He had such a velvet voice. Good to read about his early days. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be black in Mississippi. And yet, how many great careers came as a result of racism and the protest movements.
Really thorough and well-written, thank you. Love the personal anecdote of Belafonte records as a special treat growing up visiting relatives. That's how I feel about Bill Withers :)
Thanks for the kind words. Harry Belafonte's music was a big part of my childhood.
There is absolutely an appetite for longer form/deep dives into less traveled corners of music, and I am always happy to help more people find your work!
Thanks, as always! You are a scholar and a gentleman!
My parents used to play the double album live at Carnegie Hall all the time when I was a kid. I wouldn't listen to it on purpose, but I saw the album among my mother's records the other day and I can hear pretty much every song in my mind. He had such a velvet voice. Good to read about his early days. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be black in Mississippi. And yet, how many great careers came as a result of racism and the protest movements.
Belafonte's voice is a thing of beauty - he could sing just about anything without really changing his approach, which is remarkable.
You're right. You reminded me of a street call song I haven't heard since I was a kid. Strawberries from Porgy and Bess.
That's from another fine Belafonte album. Miles' version of its with Gil Evans is my favourite - gorgeous!
He’s still alive.....
And thank goodness for that!