Harry Belafonte

The American singer, actor and humanitarian activist Harry Belafonte was born as Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr. on March 1, 1927 in Harlem, New York. His parents were illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, his mother from Jamaica, his father from Martinique. As a child he accompanied his mother back to Jamaica where he spent much of his childhood. The life and music of the Caribbean made a strong impression and came to have great significance for his future career.

When he was twelve or thirteen years, he returned to New York and after school, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Back from the war, he worked for a time as a caretaker. It was then that he one day was tipped a pair of theater tickets for some service. The theater performance made an immediate and strong impression on the young Harry and it did not take long before he started taking acting lessons at The New School Dramatic Workshop. Among his fellow students were emerging stars like Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis and Walter Matthau. To finance his theater lessons, he began as a jazz and popular singer in bars and clubs, working with Charlie Parker's band and such celebrities as Max Roach and Miles Davis.

His interest in folk music, however, took the upper hand and soon he appeared with his friend and guitarist Millard Thomas at the legendary Village Vanguard. Having signed a recording contract with RCA Victor there soon followed the big breakthrough in 1956 with the album Calypso - the first LP record that sold more than one million copies. It was above all the famous Banana Boat Song which became a mega hit. Soon it was heard everywhere:

Day O, Day O. ..

Daylight come and me wan' go home ...

The song, which was originally a work song from Jamaica, had previously been performed by various folk artists but Harry Belafonte did it so much better with his dynamic and well arranged performance. On the album were also several other great songs that became popular, such as Jamaica Farewell and Come Back Liza. Belafonte's song is characterized by passion, emotion and warmth. (Incidentally, though, most of the songs on the album Calypso are not calypso songs, but can rather be classified as "mento" - characteristic of Jamaica. Calypso belongs to Trinidad).

Although West Indian music certainly was closest to Harry Belafonte's heart, he also performed many other songs of different genres, from interpretations of folk songs, blues and gospel music to popular songs like Try To Remember and Danny Boy. Alongside the album releases and the many concert appearances he also did some acting and came to have leading roles in several motion pictures, among them Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), White Man's Burden (1995) and Kansas City (1996).

Early in his career Belafonte was influenced by the singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, who became something of a mentor for him. Robeson was deeply involved in the racial situation in the U.S. and also opposed European colonization in Africa. Harry Belafonte, too, came to engage much in these issues and became close friends with Martin Luther King, whom he supported in the struggle for civil rights and freedom from racism. This commitment has continued and grown over the years. In the 1980s, Belafonte took the initiative for the project USA for Africa, which raised money for famine and war victims in Africa with the help of the song We Are the World. Belafonte is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

In the United States he has in recent years attracted strong feelings by several powerful and provocative statements. Among other things, he called former President George W. Bush "the greatest tyrant and terrorist in the world". He also equated the U.S. government with the 9/11 terrorists, something that has obviously upset many. He further ended up in trouble when he criticized the colored members of the Bush administration, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and called them "house slaves." He later admitted that the statements might have been a bit hasty but stressed at the same time that he stood for the opinion that the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance coupled with ignorance" and that its foreign policy was "morally bankrupt".

Harry Belafonte, who by now (in 2013) is 86 years old, is married for the third time and has several children in his two previous marriages, some of whom are active in film, television and music.

His birth chart looks like this:

Harry Belafonte, 1 March 1927, 10:30, New York, USA

(Source: Astro DataBank)

The most prominent signs are Pisces (with the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus), Aquarius (with the Moon and the Midheaven) and Gemini (with the Ascendant and Mars). We get the image of an artistic and sensitive (Pisces) person, socially committed (Aquarius), as well as communicative and versatile (Gemini). Air and Water elements dominate - thought and feeling. Marked houses are the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh. The fourth quadrant, as well as the eastern and southern hemispheres dominate. We have a person who wants to leave his mark on the world, who has strong ideals, is independent and self-motivated, and who is happy to appear in public life. The Moon is in her Balsamic phase, approaching the Sun, reflecting a person with dedication and commitment.

The Ascendant in Gemini shows Harry Belafonte as a versatile, verbal, humorous, and outgoing person who likes to deal with many things at once. Communication is extremely important to him. A good sense of language and ability to express himself is characteristic, as well as alertness, agility, and a youthful and charming expression. Maybe there is some restlessness and a tendency to split up on too many projects. The Ascendant ruler Mercury is in the artistic Water sign Pisces in the Eleventh House in conjunction with Venus and Uranus and it also rules the Fifth House of creativity and self-expression. Harry Belafonte is known to be somewhat of a perfectionist in his creative work, here reflected by Virgo on the Fifth House cusp.

Mercury-disposed Mars in Gemini in conjunction with the Ascendant gives power and strength to the personality. Here is much communicative energy and spontaneity and a strong desire to express his own individuality, and of course also some tendency to overly hasty and ill-considered statements.

The Sun is in sensitive and artistic Pisces in a very close conjunction with the expansive and successful Jupiter – and where, if not in the Tenth House of career and fame! There is optimism, generosity and physical vitality in large measure. The Sun rules via Leo the Fourth House of home, family and roots with artistic and musical Neptune in this sign. Neptune and the Sun are thus in mutual reception, i.e. in each other's signs, and thus strengthen and color each other. There is with Harry Belafonte a pride in his own roots in the African-American population, which is manifested in his artistic performances but also in his humanitarian and political commitment. It was also in his mother's and grandmother's home country Jamaica that the young Harry received strong influences from the Caribbean culture and music, which later brought him fame worldwide as the great "calypso singer".

Sometimes (if not always) astrology is incredible. Remarkably and amusingly enough, Harry Belafonte's signature song, the well-known vocal stanza "Day O" is reflected in his Tenth House of fame! "Day" is of course the Sun and "O" - an expression of praise – is represented clear as a bell by Jupiter in Pisces! Not only that. The song is about a boat in the harbor being loaded with bananas ("Banana Boat Song"). Boat, harbor and water are all represented by Pisces and fruit and bananas by Jupiter!

Day O Day O!

Daylight come and me wan' go home,

Work all night on a drink of rum,

Daylight come and me wan'go home,

Stack banana till the morning come …

- It is all there in his Tenth House of fame and career!

The Sun and Jupiter in the Tenth House form a T-cross with Mars on the Ascendant and Saturn on the Descendant. At the same time, they form a trine to Pluto in Cancer in the Second House of resources, talents and values. Much of the dynamics and excitement of Harry Belafonte's life and artistry is reflected in this pattern. There is, of course, a big challenge in this, to be able to modulate his own power and also to overcome the sometimes unreasonable demands on his own performance.

The Neptune-ruled Eleventh House with the Ascendant ruler Mercury in conjunction with Venus and the Midheaven ruler Uranus reflects his humanitarian ideals and his involvement in the civil rights movement. That Venus in Aries forms a sextile with Mars on the Ascendant indicates an ability to mix friendly charm and powerful strength, to be both gentle and strong. Uranus in Pisces rules the Midheaven and disposes the Aquarius Moon in the Ninth House. To Belafonte his career is very much about having a platform from which to express and communicate his social engagement. The Moon in the Ninth House, in conjunction with the Midheaven, forms a trine to the Ascendant/Mars and a sextile to Saturn in Sagittarius and reflects a need and an ability to understand and convey a global perspective and approach (the Ninth House) in his social commitment (Aquarius). The Ninth House is also ruled by Saturn in Sagittarius on the Descendant. It implies a responsible and serious view on what is happening in the world.

Neptune in Leo in the Fourth House - the born stage performer - is unaspected, living a life of its own, except for a trine to Chiron in Aries in the Twelfth House, which expresses an understanding and compassion for those who are vulnerable and a willingness and desire to help and assist them. Chiron is disposed by Mars on the Ascendant and suggests an inner, underlying pain, which gets its outlet or expression through his artistry and music (the trine to Neptune in Leo).

The Twelfth House is also home to the Venus-disposed Pars Fortunae, the synthesis of the Sun, Moon and Ascendant placements. The Venus-sign Taurus shows that Harry Belafonte's happiness and fulfillment are closely associated with his singing and artistry, as well as with internal stability and calm. Taurus also suggests a good sense of quality and beauty, as well as an instinctive awareness of the value of things.