According to no less an authority than Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte was “The best balladeer in the land and everybody knew it.” His albums and singles sold in their millions and helped to popularise calypso and mento folk music around the world. An award-winning actor, he worked with such acclaimed American film directors as Spike Lee, Robert Altman and Otto Preminger, but was happy to be upstaged by the Muppets while performing his signature song, Day-O (Banana Boat Song).
Alongside his performing career, Belafonte's championing of equality and civil rights, and tireless charity work, won him countless honours and accolades. Just last year, the Jamaican government announced plans to rename one of the country's highways after him in recognition of his work as a
