June 2, 1956: Harry Belafonte Releases "Calypso"

June 2, 1956: Harry Belafonte releases his album Calypso. It makes him one of the biggest stars in America.

Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr. was born on March 1, 1927 in Manhattan. His parents were Caribbean immigrants. One of his grandfathers was a Dutch Jew. In other words, he was ingrained in America's, and indeed in New York City's, history before he could understand what that meant. He found out, and embraced it.

He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Upon his return, he met Sidney Poitier, another struggling young Caribbean-American actor then. Unable to afford one tickets to plays, they would purchase one, one would see the first act, tell the other about it at intermission, and the other would see the second act, and tell the first man about it afterward.

In 1952, after singing with Charlie Parker (whose band then included Miles Davis and Max Roach), he got a recording contract. In 1954, he starred with Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, an adaptation of Georges Bizet's Carmen with an all-black cast.

In 1956, Calypso, with its Caribbean themes, became the 1st album by a soloist to sell over 1 million copies. Many of its songs were written and arranged by William Attaway, a black novelist and songwriter. Some were written by Irving Burgie, a songwriter known as Lord Burgess.

"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" became one of the most familiar songs in the world, turned into parodies and sports-team chants all over the world. "Jamaica Farewell" became a standard. So did "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)," with its chant that "The woman is... smar-ter! Smarter than the man in ev-e-ry way!"

Amazingly, Belafonte was able to record and release a song titled "Brown Skin Girl," which, like "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)," was written by traditional calypso singer Norman Span. Even more amazing, he got away with recording a song titled "The Jack-Ass Song," co-written by Burgess and Attaway.

Grownups, already sick of rock and roll and hoping it was just a fad, were hoping that calypso would be the fad that chased rock and roll away. It didn't, although Belafonte had more hits in the style, including "Mama Look at Bubu," and many groups recorded the Caribbean-inflected "Marianne."

In early 1957, Belafonte released the album An Evening With Belafonte, which had more traditional songs like "Hava Nagila" (spelled "Hava Nageela" on this album), "Danny Boy" and "Shenandoah." On December 10, 1959, his TV special "Tonight with Belafonte" aired on CBS. This special, also featuring black singers Odetta, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, made him the 1st black person to win an Emmy Award.

Naturally, he went into the Civil Rights Movement, and was at the March On Washington in 1963. He's never stopped singing or fighting, and is probably wondering why he still has to do this stuff at age 90. His daughter, Shari Belafonte, also became a renowned actor.

UPDATE: He died on April 25, 2023.

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June 2, 1956 was a Saturday. Baseball star Pedro Guerrero was born. And These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1953 to 1959), 5-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Reds scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to win it. Rookie Frank Robinson went 1-for-3. Willie Mays went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers were swept in a doubleheader by to the Chicago Cubs, 8-1 and 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. In the opener, Don Kaiser outpitched Carl Erskine. In the nightcap, Bob Rush outpitched Don Newcombe, though Newcombe went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 2-for-9. Duke Snider went 1-for-6 with 2 walks. Jackie Robinson did not play in either game.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 11-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 15-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Herb Score struck out 13, but walked 8, keeping a 3-hit shutout, and outpitching George Stone. Eddie Yost had 2 of the Senators' hits, and future Hall-of-Fame manager Whitey Herzog had the other.

Sam Mele, who went on to manage the Senators franchise, as the Minnesota Twins, to the 1965 American League Pennant, went 3-for-5 with a home run, a walk, and 4 RBIs. Jim Hegan hit a grand slam. Vic Wertz and rookie Rocky Colavito also homered for the Tribe.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Braves, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Roberto Clemente did not play. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4 at the first Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Richie Ashburn went 2-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Stan Musial went 1-for-5.

* The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Tigers swept, 6-3 and 7-4. Billy Hoeft went the distance for the win in the opener, while Whitey Ford didn't get out of the 5th inning. Yogi Berra did not play.

Don Larsen started the nightcap, and got home runs from Yogi and Eddie Robinson, but Tom Morgan fell apart in the top of the 10th inning. Over the 2 games, Mickey Mantle went 2-for-8, and Al Kaline went 1-for-7 with 3 walks and an RBI.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox were rained out at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. This game was also made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The White Sox swept, 12-0 and 9-2. Dick Donovan pitched a 7-hit shutout in the 1st game. Dave Philley and Sherm Lollar each had 4 hits.