Harry Belafonte, the American singer, actor and social activist known as the King of Calypso, has died. He was 96.
Belafonte died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife, Pamela, by his side, said Paula M. Witt of public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.
Belafonte, whose family was Jamaican, spent part of his childhood on the island and popularized Caribbean music with international audiences in the 1950s through hits such as the Banana Boat Song with its iconic “Daaayy-o” callout. He reprised the song for a new generation in an appearance in 1978 on The Muppet Show.
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