45 RPMs 74 : Harry Belafonte ~ Banana Boat Song (Day O)

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Harry Belafonte ~ Banana Boat Song (Day O) 

45 rpm record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

 

 

On October 20, 1955, Day-O, a traditional mento Jamaican folk song, was recorded by Harry Belafonte. The title was changed to Banana Boat Song (Day O) and released a year later.         

          

I remember when the song came out and how much I loved the languid tempo of the rhythm with its vocals comprised of only male voices as backup. I had never heard of calypso at that point so it introduced me to a whole new form of music. It had bongo drums which only became popular a couple of years later with the advent of the Beatniks and their poetry readings.   

The original song, Day-O, was written by Irving Burgie who used the alias Lord Burgess; he was regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.      

 

The song was covered by the Tarriers, the Fontane Sisters, Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Bassey and Steve Lawrence in 1956.       

        

Stan Freberg did a wonderful parody of the song entitled, Banana Boat (Day-O). As was usual with his style, it is totally wacky and out of control!        

    

The "B" side of the record, Jamaica Farewell, was also written by "Lord Burgess" and is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.     

Harry Belafonte ~ Jamaica Farewell

45 rpm record, side 2

photo by Styrous®

 

 

Jamaica Farewell was covered by many artists, some of them were: Chuck Berry, Marty Robbins, Caetano Veloso, Jimmy Buffett, Sam Cooke, Carly Simon and, of course, The Kingston Trio.         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

Tracklist:

Side 1:

Banana Boat (Day-O), Guitar [With] – Millard Thomas Orchestra, Chorus – Tony Scott's Orchestra And Chorus*, written by Belafonte*, Burgess*, Attaway* - 3:05

Side 2:
 

Jamaica Farewell, Conductor – William Lorin, written by Lord Burgess.


Companies, etc.

    Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis

 Credits:

 

 
Info on Banana Boat side 1: Recorded Oct. 20, 1955

Info on Jamaica Farewell side: 2 Recorded July 24, 1956

 

Notes:

Info on both sides:
TMK(s) ® Registered • Marca(s) Registrada(s)
Radio Corporation of America—Made in U.S.A.

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

        

 Matrix / Runout (Side A label): J2PW-5657
    Matrix / Runout (Side B label): J2PW-5658
    Pressing Plant ID (Appears in runouts): I
    Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, stamped): J2PW 5657 5S I A1
    Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, stamped): J2PW-5658--4S ^ I A3

        

Harry Belafonte – Banana Boat (Day-O) / Jamaica Farewell
Series:    Gold Standard Series
Format:    Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Styrene
Country: US
Released:    
Genre:    Reggae, Pop
Style:    Calypso        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

        
Shirley Bassey         

Harry Belafonte             

Chuck Berry           

Sam Cooke              

The Kingston Trio             

Marty Robbins           

Sarah Vaughan            
     
Net links:       

         

American Songwriter ~ Behind the Meaning of Banana Boat (Day-O)      

Got a Million Rhymes ~ Day-O (Banana Boat Song)        

Songfacts ~ The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)                      

     
YouTube links:      
        

Banana Boat Song (Day O)    

         Shirley Bassey       

         Harry Belafonte            

         Steve Lawrence       
         Sarah Vaughan    

Stan Freberg - Banana Boat (Day-O)         

Jamaica Farewell      

         Chuck Berry          

         Sam Cooke           
         The Kingston Trio     

         Marty Robbins        

         Carly Simon            

         Caetano Veloso      
         

        

        

Styrous® ~ Friday, October 20, 2023

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