Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Nov. 14, 1998.
When Harry Belafonte belted out his signature “day-o” from “Banana Boat,” the crowd at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium sang it back to him with equal power. A stunned Belafonte was so pleased with the enthusiasm, he shouted, “Oh my God, I’m gonna move here.”
Throughout his two-hour concert Friday night, Belafonte continually thanked and praised the energy of the 1,800 fans who came to see his Caribbean-flavored concert. And the fans, for their part, were doing their best to make Belafonte think seriously about his promise to move here.
The crowd shook the rafters while singing along with several of Belafonte’s Calypso hits from the 1950s, including “Banana Boat,” “Jamaica Farewell” and “Matilda.”
Belafonte made “Jamaica Farewell” into a sort of competition by having the men sing it alone, then the women. Then he asked for all women over 40, and got only a whisper of response. With perfect comic timing, he faked a look of shock and stopped the band. Then he cajoled and kidded the mature women before starting the song again. This time a chorus of female voices sang out strong, right through the last line: “I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.”
Belafonte’s voice, at age 71, was as strong and smooth as ever. Dressed in black pleated pants and a black shirt, the trim Belafonte looked much as he did during his heyday 40 years ago, except for the gray hair. His energy seemed boundless as he danced spry little steps and punctuated his songs with animated arm and hand movements. He had the audience laughing at several points, sometimes because of his gestures and sometimes because of his one-liners.
“My representatives put before me a list of all the places I could be at this very moment — Paris, London, Rio, or Portland, Maine. I said, ‘Well, I’ve been everyplace else.’ ”
Belafonte’s seven-member backing group included musicians from Puerto Rico, Brazil and Africa. About half his songs were new, influenced by music around the world, including jazz, funk and reggae. One song, “Paradise in Gazankulu,” was based on a 9-year-old boy living in poverty in South Africa who survived by conning people at cards. Belafonte knew of the boy because of his travels around the world promoting the children’s relief work of UNICEF.
During the raucous “Carnival,” Belafonte gave each member of his band a long solo. Besides singing, he danced around the stage making a racket on a whistle and noisemaker.
Many in the crowd at Merrill wanted Belafonte’s musical carnival to go on all night. Near the end of the show, during “Banana Boat,” Belafonte sang the line: “Daylight come and me want to go home.”
One woman shouted out her response on behalf of everyone else: “But I don’t.”
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