Harry Belafonte in Oxford Cloth Button Down. Yale Joel 1957.

My friend the late Tony Scott (Antonio Sciacca) told me he wrote Day-O The Banana Boat Song when working as Belafonte’s music director. Being a serious jazz cat (who also gave Bill Evans his first regular gig) he was too embarassed to sign his name to it.

Millions of copies sold and millions of dollars later, Tony was still a poor jazz musician who shrugged it off with humour.

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