Harry Belafonte - Belafonte (1955/2016) [TR24][OF]

Belafonte's second album includes songs featured in the Broadway production of Three for Tonight, which starred Belafonte along with Gower and Marge Champion. The collection again featured a variety of material, which would become a hallmark with his albums up until the mid-1960s. But now, for the first time, the power of Belafonte's interpretive skills become apparent, especially with songs culled from field recordings of chain gangs and southern prisons. "Jump Down, Spin Around" and "Sylvie" were both popularized by Leadbelly. The hammer song "Water Boy" and the spirituals "Take My Mother Home" and "Noah" are among the most powerful performances in Belafonte's career. Also included is Belafonte's second recording of one of his most requested songs, the calypso "Matilda." This version was far superior to his first effort, released only on a single in 1953. This album was swept along with the success of Belafonte's next release, the million-selling Calypso, and was #1 on Billboard's album charts for six weeks, remaining on the charts for over a year. Review by Cary Ginell

TRACKLIST
01. Water Boy 03:38
02. Troubles 03:42
03. Suzanne (Every Night When the Sun Goes Down) 03:18
04. Matilda 03:34
05. Take My Mother Home 05:50
06. Noah 04:51
07. Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) 03:12
08. In That Great Gettin' Up Mornin' 03:16
09. Unchained Melody 03:22
10. Jump Down, Spin Around 01:56
11. Sylvie 05:18

PERSONNEL
Harry Belafonte – vocals
Millard Thomas – guitar
Bud Shank – saxophone
Jimmy Giuffre – saxophone
Buddy Childers – trumpet
Conti Condoli – trumpet
Maynard Ferguson – trumpet
Tony Scotts Orchestra
Norman Luboff Choir

Recorded: RCA Victor's Manhattan Center and 24th Street Studios, August 10 – 19, 1955.