The Pop Story

Harry Belafonte - Calypso (1956)

Harry Belafonte via last.fm

This is the album that contains ‘Banana Boat Song (Day-O)’, a pastiche of which was part of an album of children’s songs (alongside ‘Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the West’, ‘Right Said Fred’ and Rolf’s peerless ‘Two Little Boys’) that I used to listen to as a kid.

It marks you out as a true, era-straddling superstar when a song you popularise becomes such a part of the culture that it enters the children’s song canon. I remember the other key post-toddler, pre-teen musical touchstones for me were ‘Barbara Anne’ and (of course) ‘Yellow Submarine’. The Beach Boys and the Beatles, all those ’60s pop bands, effectively put an end to Harry Belafonte’s singing career, but he was really bigger than all of them combined - his impact on culture in general is more than just that the ‘Banana Boat Song’ remains a vital part of the pop fabric, but my 7 year old self would probably leave it at that, and so I shall.

Listen to Calypso on Spotify