The unanticipated success of Beetlejuice launched careers. Harry Belafonte photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images, treatment by Patrick Jenkins. In 1988, silver screen blockbuster, Beetlejuice, featured many of his songs peppered throughout. The absurdity of our singing calypso and being ordered to by strange creatures—it made a nice comic combination. “What was particularly attractive was that he wanted to use my voice,” Belafonte adds. A few scenes later, he’s dancing to the 1956 hit “Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” before the real estate broker interrupts. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Paul Robeson, John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and more. The Calypso sound is symbolic of the afterlife in this movie. Harry Belafonte, who had a huge hit with the calypso song Day-O (PA) ... appearing in everything from the film and Broadway musical Beetlejuice to an E-Trade commercial. “On the first take, a handful of menacing crustaceans—badly aimed—whapped dear Catherine O’Hara hard, square in the kisser. 1988. Could he use Belafonte’s music in a dark comedy about two ghosts who hire a crass “freelance bio-exorcist” to rid their home of insufferable art snobs? “We talked briefly. Harry Belafonte received a telephone call. But he seems to recognize that his “Day-O” recording has found a strange cultural endurance. Michael Keaton. The song was even played at the 2010 memorial service for Glenn Shadix, the actor who played Otho in the movie. Letra de Day-o (banana Boat Song) Letra de Coconut Woman When he was handed an oddball screenplay about newly deceased ghosts, he found it. (Burton did not respond to requests for clarification.) Tim Burton, then in his late twenties, was looking for his next project after failing to get funding for Batman. If you are interested in a little more trivia or background information on this film, take a look here. “I’ve never danced around a table with a handkerchief since, but it was fun to do,” says Cavett. Why not? Both selections, though, rely on the deep, male voice of an African-American vocalist, placed in comic juxtaposition with O’Hara’s (white, female) character. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. I thought it was a very positive force in world culture.”. The mother explained that the boy recognized him from Beetlejuice and wanted him to recite lines from that scene. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. What was settled upon brought a spotlight on Harry Belafonte and his presentation of Caribbean folk music that he learned as a child living with his grandmother. Change ). 24 songs… (Susan Watts/New York Daily News) As a kid, Burgie was a … “Almost everybody knew it. “There’s no logic to it.”. Most curiously, it revived Belafonte’s career, which had peaked more than 30 years prior—before Burton had even been born. “I’m too old for surprises,” the singer says. “Wiping their hands full of tomato ketchup and mustard on my clothes. The strange saga of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” stretches back at least a century. Wilson can’t remember. When he returned to New York City, he attended George Washington High School after which h… The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music. Letra de Come Back Liza. Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (originally Belafonete; born March 1, 1927) is an American of Jamaican and Martiniquan descent who is a singer, actor, and social activist. “It looked like I was auditioning for this seven-year-old kid!” Cavett says. The Jack-Ass Song. Beetlejuice Soundtrack Complete By Sebastián Galaviz. (Slot it somewhere between the Wayne’s World “Bohemian Rhapsody” sequence and Back to the Future’s “Johnny B. Goode” bit.) It is intriguing to know that Belafonte’s music was not chosen for the movie until the third rewrite of the script. The original screenplay, written by the late novelist Michael McDowell in 1985, was substantially darker than what audiences saw: the story essentially began with the gruesome drowning of Adam and Barbara and concluded with Beetlejuice burning repeatedly before exploding into a ball of fire. All the time see no dances calypso left to right is the temple and when she gets the sensation she's go up in the air. "Day-O " is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The early draft of Beetlejuice had no room for calypso music. SKU: MN0202462 This was Tim Burton’s second feature film; the first was PeeWee’s Big Adventure. Beetlejuice is a unique movie, with an unique director. I never worked for such a young audience. “The rug sprouted vines that wrapped up all the guests. “McDowell and I had come up with a dinner party where one of the guests spilled a glass of wine on an ornate rug with a floral design,” recalls screenwriter Larry Wilson, who wrote the original story with McDowell. I liked the idea of Beetlejuice. Letra de Jamaica Farewell. All rights reserved. ( Log Out /  He performed under the name Lord Burgess and wrote eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte’s blockbuster 1956 album “Calypso,” including “Day-O,” which was based on a Jamaican folk song. Belafonte could not have known he had just greenlighted one of cinema’s most memorable and appealingly bizarre musical numbers ever to incorporate a pre-existing pop song. Why? Belafonte even performed it on “The Muppet Show” in 1978. Better than if we were singing ‘Silent Night.’”. Take some time to watch and enjoy the movie. “I’ll be around for a while.”. In fact, Belafonte’s calypso tunes are threaded throughout Beetlejuice as a sly recurring theme. There was also to be no music in that pivotal dinner scene. And I agreed to do it.” (Geffen was unable to be interviewed for this piece, but confirmed through a representative that he remembers the same phone call.) The calypso hit, also known as The Banana Boat Song, featured in the popular film Beetlejuice and has been sampled by rapper Lil Wayne and singer Jason Derulo. “I never had a request like that before,” says Belafonte, who is now 91 and retired from music in favor of humanitarian work. "Jump in the Line (Shake, Señora)" is a calypso song sung by Harry Belafonte and composed by Lord Kitchener. 1 decade ago. “He didn’t think it was very funny.” Of course, the filmmaker was wrong: Audiences loved it. Comedian André van Duin parodied it. Later renditions. “In that rehearsal, it was obvious this was going to be a great sequence. The film sounded preposterous. I was a little concerned.” He remembers rehearsing the scene on a Friday afternoon and being amazed. “Day-O” was cheap, Jones confirms: “I think it was like $300 to do it?”, Regardless, Wilson’s take is that the curious choice is not to be overthought. The tune’s worksong appeal is not limited by industry. Yet Belafonte was intrigued. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Chords, and Singer Pro in F Major. “When I was growing up, there were these 78-rpm calypso records upstairs where the phonograph was, and I played them,“ Jones says. It established Burton as a household name and gave him the Hollywood clout to finally make 1989’s big-budget Batman. In the most lady-like way, she uttered an unprintable word. His premiere album, Calypso, was released in 1956 but he had been featured in film before that. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The Maitlands be-friend Lydia, but Beetlejuice has his eye on her too and pulls such nasty tricks as turning into a snake and getting Lydia to marry him. “It was tough and a bit dangerous to shoot, with leaping shrimp flying blind,” Cavett recalls. The song TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM by THE TEDDY BEARS was my first vinyl record ever. Brown Skin Girl. He started singing in clubs in the 1940’s. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. He hired a series of writers to rewrite versions of the script. Caribbean folk music that he learned as a child, https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-a-calypso-anthem-became-the-surreal-centerpiece-of-beetlejuice/, Song of the Week: A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission), Calypso in the Afterlife: Beetlejuice Brought New Life to the Music of Harry Belafonte. It helped turn Ryder into a Gen-X icon, a status she solidified the following year with Heathers. In the 50s and 60s when calypso music (from Trinidad) made its debut in Singapore and when Harry Belafonte ... the song was used in the comedy film, Beetlejuice where during the dinner scene, the possessed guests sang and danced, *The Banana Boat Song. And its cultural prominence has not dimmed since. Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr., at Lying-in Hospital in Harlem, New York, Belafonte was the son of Melvine (née Love) – a housekeeper of Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a Martiniquan who worked as a chef in the National Guard. In the film, calypso music seems to signify freedom and ghostly mischief. Hosanna. Shake your body work work work I'm working all the time. But the link between the ghosts and music was most likely dreamed up by screenwriter Warren Skaaren, who died in 1990. In his draft, there is a supernatural singalong, though the ghosts seem to favor old-school R&B over calypso: Skaaren specified the Ink Spots’ 1939 hit “If I Didn’t Care” for the dinner party. As Beetlejuice became a cult sensation, the film’s soundtrack—which contained both “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line” nestled between the Elfman compositions—spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart during the summer of 1988. The unanticipated success of Beetlejuice launched careers. Harry Belafonte. ( Log Out /  In 1952, the Caribbean singer Edric Connor recorded the tune, calling it “Day Dah Light.” But it was Belafonte’s 1956 version that achieved immortality. What in the World is Happening in Russia. Lord Invader released a cover of the song on the Folkways Label in 1955, titled "Labor Day (Jump in the Line)". And they got it. In the process, one of the rewrites was based on soul/ R&B music at the core of the afterlife. Beetlejuice Day-o Lyrics. Note: The original version of this story said simply that Catherine O‘Hara has been credited with the idea of using calypso in Beetlejuice. She she go like a rocket in the time. © 2021 Condé Nast. No one was afraid to take things to the most most far-out places.”, “It’s a nice tune, for one,” says iconic TV host Dick Cavett, who is seated to the right of O’Hara during the dinner party, in a recent interview. Come Back Liza. The music emerges when Adam and Barbara are exerting control over their home. He was 95. Belafonte declines to speculate as to why his own version of the song has somehow outlived the other renditions. Letra de Island In The Sun. It became Mr. Belafonte’s signature song. I believe you jump a little higher in the body of the chimney in the body. *Ed. In fact, Belafonte’s calypso tunes are threaded throughout Beetlejuice as a sly recurring theme. Pitchfork may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. I know we did it a number of times until we all went home whistling or humming the tune.”. Many were recorded by Belafonte, including eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte's 1956 album, Calypso, the first album to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. Burgess also penned songs … “That means I have some sustainability,” he says. Prominently featured songs that are credited and available on the soundtrack are “The Banana Boat Song” and “Jump in the Line” (Shake, Senora) but, hiding in the background, you will also find “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” and “Sweetheart From Venezuela.” It is a treasure box with so much to discover. That’s perhaps deliberate, since the Deetz family (the art-snob intruders) signifies crude modernity while the Maitlands (the ghosts) represent a quaint New England lifestyle. Despite the eye-popping choreography, the “Day-O” scene was fairly smooth to shoot, says cinematographer Thomas E. Ackerman. But he liked it. whats the name and singer of the calypso song played in the movie Beetlejuice....? The song was simple enough, ... (The Banana Boat Song)” helped launch a calypso craze around the world. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The actors had all worked it out. And, in the spirit of Beetlejuice’s almost dadaist sense of chaos, it symbolizes absolutely nothing. All the time. And flattered. Man Smart, Woman Smarter. Then here comes Harry Belafonte! The lyrics describe how daylight has come, their shift is over, and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home. In 1988, silver screen blockbuster, Beetlejuice, featured many of his songs peppered throughout. Winona Ryder. For the film’s finale, he suggested “When a Man Loves a Woman,” which young Lydia was to sing “in a voice as deep and soulful as Percy Sledge.”. He was calling the Jamaican-American singer and activist on behalf of his production house, the Geffen Film Company, with a rather unusual request. Letra de don't Ever Love Me. “Mostly in ballparks—Yankee Stadium and a few places. Onscreen, the song’s swaying, creaking singalong sets the groove for a musical haunting: The art-snob couple (Catherine O’Hara and Jeffrey Jones) and their dinner guests find themselves supernaturally forced to sing and gyrate along with “Day-O,” a scheme devised by the ghosts to scare them out of the house. When Ackerman first read the script, “I didn’t see how it was going to work without going way overboard, self-conscious. It helped turn Ryder into a Gen-X icon, a status she solidified the following year with Heathers. It established Burton as a household name and gave him the Hollywood clout to finally make 1989’s big-budget Batman. Nor does Badami (the music editor), who says the song was slotted into the film before he came onboard. “It's absurd,” says Bob Badami, the film’s music editor. “That was my favorite moment ever, in the history of my life,” Belafonte says. “Day-O” entered the charts yet again in 2011, when Lil Wayne sampled it on “6 Foot 7 Foot.” In 2014, it cropped up in the civil rights drama Selma, which honors Belafonte’s own real-life civil rights advocacy. “I’m hearing my song all the time,” he says. Indeed, “it is an infinitely applicable refrain,” as The New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich noted last year, “no matter what your metaphorical banana might be.”. Harry Belafonte is known as the King of Calypso, but he would never refer to himself as that since he had no ties to Calypso royalty. Beetlejuice Soundtrack Music - Complete Song List | Tunefind “I just loved the Muppets. He read the script and knew he needed to take the idea somewhere. Print and download Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) sheet music from Beetlejuice [Musical]. “Everywhere I went, for about a year, I had kids all over me: ‘Oh! The recording is distinguished by its remarkable opening instant, in which Belafonte’s utterance of “daaaay-o” sounds vast and distant. “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” is a single from Harry Belafonte’s 1956 album Calypso is an adaptation of a vernacular Jamaican work song. Listen to trailer music, OST, original score, and the full list of popular songs in the film. Beetlejuice is said to have been a civil servant and Juno's assistant; it was going to be explained in the film that he hanged himself (incompetently and very painfully), due to heartbreak. The Maitlands also pull some tricks of their own, like the memorable scene where they possess Delia and her guests and make them dance the Calypso while singing Day-O by Harry Belefonte. All of a sudden, in the middle of a game, you’ll hear ‘daaaay-o.’ And 35,000 voices respond.”, At 91, the singer is quite pleased that his voice—that husky, full-throated wail—survives, whether it’s emanating from Catherine O’Hara’s mouth or his own. Yes zero run. Music by Danny Elfman. Yes, that one.” Finally, Cavett suggested filming the shrimp falling from their faces, then running the film backwards. President Kennedy named him cultural advisor to the Peace Corps. ( Log Out / 
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