''Belafonte'' is the second
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American recording artist
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
, released by
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
in late 1955.
[Most discographies list this album as a 1956 release. ] The album was the first number one on the
''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums chart, topping the chart for six weeks before being knocked out of the top spot by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's
self-titled debut album, also issued by RCA Victor.
Track listing
#"
Waterboy
In the United States, a water boy or water girl (sometimes spelled waterboy or watergirl) was someone who worked in the field, providing water to farm workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the name is given to those who work on the ...
" (
Avery Robinson) – 3:42
#"Troubles" (Harry Belafonte) – 3:38
#"Suzanne" (Belafonte, Millard Thomas) – 3:19
#"
Matilda
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
Animals
* Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder
* Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
" (Norman Span) – 3:11
#"Take My Mother Home" (Hall Johnson) – 6:00
#"Noah" (Belafonte,
William Attaway
William Alexander Attaway (November 19, 1911 – June 17, 1986) was an African-American novelist, short story writer, essayist, songwriter, playwright, and screenwriter.
Biography
Early life
Attaway was born on November 19, 1911, in Greenvil ...
) – 4:53
#"
Scarlet Ribbons" (
Jack Segal
Jack Segal (October 19, 1918 – February 10, 2005) was a pianist and composer of popular American songs, known for writing the lyrics to '' Scarlet Ribbons''. His composition '' May I Come In?'' was the title track for a Blossom Dearie album. ...
,
Evelyn Danzig
Evelyn Danzig Levine (January 16, 1902 – July 26, 1996) was an American Tin Pan Alley songwriter, who was a one hit wonder best known for co-writing the music for the folk style ballad popular song " Scarlet Ribbons", published in 1949, with lyr ...
) – 3:13
#"In That Great Gettin' Up Mornin'"(
Norman Luboff
Norman Luboff (May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987) was an American music arranger, music publisher, and choir director.
Early years
Norman Luboff was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. He studied piano as a child and participated in his high ...
, Belafonte) – 3:15
#"
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...
" (
Hy Zaret
Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky, August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer who wrote the lyrics of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody," one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.
Persona ...
,
Alex North
Alex North (born Isadore Soifer, December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (one of the first jazz-based film scores), ''Viva Zapata!'', ''Spa ...
) – 3:18
#"
Jump Down, Spin Around" (Luboff, Belafonte, Attaway) – 1:54
#"Sylvie" (
Huddie Ledbetter
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standa ...
, Paul Campbell) – 5:21
Personnel
*Harry Belafonte – vocals
*Millard Thomas – guitar
*
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...
– saxophone
*
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
– saxophone
*
Buddy Childers
Marion "Buddy" Childers (February 12, 1926 – May 24, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and ensemble leader. Childers became famous in 1942 at the age of 16, when Stan Kenton hired him to be the lead trumpet in his band.
Biography ...
– trumpet
*
Conte Candoli
Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orch ...
– trumpet
*
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
– trumpet
*
Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...
's Orchestra
*
Norman Luboff
Norman Luboff (May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987) was an American music arranger, music publisher, and choir director.
Early years
Norman Luboff was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. He studied piano as a child and participated in his high ...
Choir
See also
*
List of Billboard number-one albums of 1956
Notes
{{Authority control
1956 albums
Harry Belafonte albums
RCA Victor albums