EU 10 CD collection from the veteran vocalist. Harold George Belafonte was born in New York in 1927. His parents came from the Caribbean. Harold`s father left the family while Harold was still an infant so the mother left for Jamaica with her small son. After several years Harry returned to New York, just before he turned 18. Belafonte opened a club in Greenwich Village with several of his friends, now performing as a singer in his own club. In 1954 the young entertainer landed a minor role in a film and made a lasting impression on audiences. Just one year later he was given the leading role in the box office hit Carmen Jones. This was to be his breakthrough as an actor. It was to be another year before his first hit, "Jamaica Farewell" made its way up the charts. His next chart climber was to become the greatest of all his hits: "Banana Boat Song". This was the birth of the calypso boom and Belafonte made the charts eight times in 1956 and 1957. Documents.