Harry Belafonte - Collection 1949-62 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

New York-born Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte is a truly unique personality - there really is no other performer or entertainer quite like him. With a recording career beginning in the late 1940s, he was instrumental in the popularisation of folk music of all kinds, especially West Indian calypso, but his music encompasses a range of idioms from gospel, blues, jazz and comedy to stage music and sophisticated pop. This 112-track 5-CD set is very much a celebration of that rich and varied musical canon. It comprises the A & B sides of his US singles on the Roost, Capitol, Jubilee and RCA labels during this era, plus selected UK releases, along with selected tracks from the fifteen or so albums he made during these years. It features all his US and UK pop hits, including UK No. 1 InchMary's Boy ChildInch and the UK top 3 hits InchBanana Boat (Day-OInch)Inch, a US No. 5, and InchIsland In The SunInch. Other favourites featured here include InchScarlet RibbonsInch, InchJamaica FarewellInch and the 'live' duet recording of InchHole In The BucketInch with Odetta. The albums featured include his two celebrated 'live' concert recordings at Carnegie Hall. It's a substantial and thoroughly absorbing overview of the primary era of his recording career, exploring music which is rarely heard these days but offers an insight into Mr. Belafonte's remarkable musical compass and it offers a fine showcase for his unique talent. Album Tracks 1. Lean on Me 2. Recognition 3. Close Your Eyes 4. Deep As the River 5. How Green Was My Valley 6. They Didn't Believe Me 7. Whispering 8. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 9. I Still Get a Thrill 10. Farewell to Arms 11. Simple Simple 12. Only One Like Me 13. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 14. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes 15. Venezuela 16. Annabelle Lee 17. Chiminey Smo