Editing Harry Belafonte (section)

=== Rise to fame (1956–1958) ===
[[File:Harry_Belafonte_Almanac_1954_b.jpg|thumb|Harry Belafonte in ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' on Broadway, photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1954]]
Following his success in the film ''[[Carmen Jones (film)|Carmen Jones]]'' (1954), Belafonte had his breakthrough album with ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'' (1956), which became the first [[LP album|LP]] in the world to sell more than one million copies in a year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2023 |title=Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, activist, dies at 96 |url=https://www.wcpo.com/harry-belafonte-singer-actor-activist-dies-at-96 |access-date=April 25, 2023 |website=WCPO 9 Cincinnati |language=en}}</ref> He stated that it was the first million-selling album ever in England.{{cn|date=March 2025}} The album is number four on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. chart.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Calypso' – Harry Belafonte (1956)|first=Judith E.|last=Smith |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/calypso.pdf |website=Library of Congress|date=2017}}</ref> The album introduced American audiences to [[calypso music]], which had originated in [[Trinidad and Tobago]] in the early 19th century, and Belafonte was dubbed the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music#C|King of Calypso]]", a title he wore with reservations since he had no claims to any [[Calypso Monarch]] titles.<ref name="USATodayDeath">{{Cite web |last=Puente |first=Maria |title=Harry Belafonte, trailblazing singer, actor and activist, dies at 96 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/04/25/harry-belafonte-dies-actor-singer-activist-king-of-calypso/2750984001/ |date=April 25, 2023|access-date=April 25, 2023 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

One of the songs included in the album is "[[Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)|Banana Boat Song]]", listed as "Day-O" on the ''Calypso'' LP, which reached number five on the pop chart and featured its signature lyric "Day-O".<ref name=pc18>{{cite web |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19768/m1/ |title=Show 18 – Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. &#91;Part 1&#93; : UNT Digital Library |year=1969 |last=Gilliland |first=John |author-link=John Gilliland |website=[[Pop Chronicles]]|access-date=November 4, 2013 }}</ref>

Many of the compositions recorded for ''Calypso'', including "Banana Boat Song" and "[[Jamaica Farewell]]", gave songwriting credit to [[Irving Burgie]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Mark |title=Irving Burgie, songwriter of calypso hit 'Day-O,' dies at 95 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/12/01/irving-burgie-day-o-songwriter-dies-95/4345996002/ |date=December 1, 2019|access-date=April 25, 2023 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, "Banana Boat Song" was released in March 1957 and spent ten weeks in the top 10 of the [[UK singles chart]], reaching a peak of number two, and in August, "[[Island in the Sun (Harry Belafonte song)|Island in the Sun]]" reached number three, spending 14 weeks in the top 10. In November, "[[Mary's Boy Child]]" reached [[List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1950s|number one in the UK]], where it spent seven weeks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harry Belafonte|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/4366/Harry-Belafonte/|website=Officialcharts.com |access-date=April 28, 2024}}</ref>