Playlist: The Very Best of Harry Belafonte

The Very Best of Harry Belafonte is a compilation album by Harry Belafonte, released by Legacy Records in 2012. It includes fourteen of his best-known songs released from 1956 through 1966.

The Very Best of Harry Belafonte
Compilation album by Harry Belafonte
Released	2012
Genre	Vocal, calypso
Length	52:21
Label	Legacy Records 887254032427
Producer	Nedra Olds-Neal
Harry Belafonte chronology
The Essential Harry Belafonte (2005) The Very Best of Harry Belafonte (2012)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Track listing

1. "Man Smart (Woman Smarter) (Live)" - 4:29 - (King Radio (Norman Span))
2. "Mama Look a Boo Boo" (Live) - 5:17 - (Lord Melody)
3. "Jamaica Farewell" - 3:03 - (Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie))
4. "My Angel (Malaika)", duet with Miriam Makeba 3:17 - (Fadhili William)
5. "Try to Remember" duet with William Eaton - 4:06 - (Tom Jones, Harry Schmidt)
6. "Island in the Sun" - 3:23 - (Belafonte, Burgess)
7. "Matilda" - 3:14 - (Span)
8. "Jump in the Line" - 4:23 - (Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts))
9. "A Hole In the Bucket (Live)", duet with Odetta (Holmes) - 4:30 - (Traditional)
10. "Suzanne (Every Night When the Sun Goes Down)" - 3:13 - (Belafonte, Millard J Thomas)
11. "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" - 2:46 - (Jack Segal, Evelyn Danzig)
12. "Cocoanut Woman" - 3:22 - (Belafonte, Burgess)
13. "Shenandoah" - 3:46 - (Traditional)
14. "Banana Boat Song (Day-O) (Live)" - 3:48 - (Traditional; arranged by Belafonte, Burgess & William Attaway)

Track history & sources

• Tracks 1, 2 & 14 from Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, 1959
• Track 3 from Calypso, 1956
• Track 4 from An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, 1965
• Track 5 from the long-running off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, which opened in 1960; this song was later released on Belafonte's In My Quiet Room, 1966
• Track 6 from Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean, 1957
• Tracks 7, 10 & 11 from Belafonte, 1955 [track 11 shortened from the original 3:12 to 2:46]
• Tracks 8 & 12 from Calypso in Brass, 1966 [the liner notes miscredit track 8 to Raymond Bell]
• Track 9 from Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall, 1960
• Track 13 from An Evening with Belafonte, 1957

Personnel

• Tracks 1, 2, 6 & 14 orchestra conducted by Bob Corman (Robert de Cormier)
• Tracks 3, 5, 7 & 10 orchestra conducted by Tony Scott
• Tracks 8 & 12 orchestra conducted by Howard A. Roberts
• Harry Belafonte – vocals

Production notes

• Tracks 1, 2, 9 & 14 produced by Bob Bollard
• Tracks 3, 7 & 11 produced by Henri René
• Tracks 4 & 5 produced by Andy Wiswell
• Track 6 produced by Joe Carlton
• Tracks 8 & 12 produced by Bill Eaton & Phil Ramone

References

1. Leggett, Steve. Harry Belafonte – Playlist: The Very Best of Harry Belafonte: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2019.