Description
*This is a Vinyl LP*
Release Date: 2017
Label: WaxTime Records
Track List
Side A
A1. Day O
A2. I Do Adore Her
A3. Jamaica Farewell
A4. Will His Love Be Like His Rum?
A5. Dolly Dawn
A6. Matilda
Side B
B1. Star O
B2. The Jack-Ass Song
B3. Hosanna
B4. Come Back Liza
B5. Brown Skin Girl (Calypso)
B6. Man Smart (Woman Smarter)
Notes
This is the album that made Harry Belafonte’s career. Up to this point, calypso had only been a part of Belafonte’s focus in his recordings of folk music styles. But with this landmark album, calypso not only became tattooed to Belafonte permanently; it had a revolutionary effect on folk music in the 1950s and ’60s. The album consists of songs from Trinidad, mostly written by West Indian songwriter Irving Burgie (aka Lord Burgess). Burgie’s two most successful songs are included — “Day O” and “Jamaica Farewell” (which were both hit singles for Belafonte) — as are the evocative ballads “I Do Adore Her” and “Come Back Liza” and what could be the first feminist folk song, “Man Smart (Woman Smarter).” Calypso became the first million-selling album by a single artist, spending an incredible 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard album charts, remaining on the charts for 99 weeks. It triggered a veritable tidal wave of imitators, parodists, and artists wishing to capitalize on its success. Years later, it remains a record of inestimable influence, inspiring many folksingers and groups to perform, most notably the Kingston Trio, which was named for the Jamaican capital. For a decade, just about every folksinger and folk group featured in their repertoire at least one song that was of West Indian origin or one that had a calypso beat. They all can be attributed to this one remarkable album.
