Jump in the Line Trivia Quiz

Answer: King of Calypso

After he released his breakthrough album simply titled 'Calypso', which introduced the musical style to US audience, Belafonte became known as the King of Calypso. 'Calypso' was Belafonte's third album and was released in 1956. Belafonte had reservations about fully embracing the King of Calypso name as the term was used for the winners of calypso music competitions held in Trinidad, something Belafonte had not done.

Answer: New York

Belafonte was born in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York City in 1927. His mother was born in Jamaica and worked as a housekeeper. His father worked as a chef; his place of birth is disputed, with some sources saying he was born in Jamaica and others saying Martinique. Belafonte's parents had moved to New York from the Caribbean to find work.

Answer: Jamaica

Belafonte's mother's USA visa expired and so she returned to the Caribbean with Harry and his younger brother, Dennis. From 1932 to 1940 the family lived with Belafonte's maternal grandmother on the island of Jamaica. Here he attended Wolmer's School, which was established in 1729 and is the oldest school in the Caribbean.

Answer: Navy

Belafonte struggled at school, and dropped out of high school. In 1944 he enlisted in the US Navy and saw service in World War II. At the time the US Navy was segregated, with black personnel largely working in support roles. Belafonte was stationed at Port Chicago in California, where he worked loading supplies on to Navy ships.

After leaving the Navy he was working as a janitor's assistant when a tenant gave him tickets to the American Negro Theater as a tip. It was this theatre trip that is said to have encouraged him to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Answer: 'Day-O'

The song 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)' is the opening track from Belafonte's 1956 album 'Calypso'. The title is sometimes given as 'Banana Boat (Day-O)' instead. The song is a Jamaican folk song about dock workers on a night shift loading bananas on to cargo ships. When it is light, they want their work to be tallied up so they can be paid and go home.

Answer: Sell over one million copies in the US

'Calypso' was Belafonte's third album and the second to reach number one on the Billboard Pop Album chart following his 1956 album 'Belafonte'. The album was very popular, spending 31 weeks at number one and becoming the first LP record album to sell one million copies. The album was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015 and was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2018.

The first album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year was 'The Music from Peter Gunn' in 1959.

Answer: 'Carmen Jones'

'Carmen Jones' is a film based on the 1943 stage musical of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II that uses music from Bizet's opera Carmen. Belafonte and Dandridge had previously acted together in the 1953 film 'Bright Road'. Despite being a successful singer, for the film Belafonte's singing was dubbed by an opera singer as his voice was deemed not right for the part.

The movie is set in World War II. Belafonte plays Corporal Joe, a US soldier assigned to transport the "shameless vixen" Carmen Jones (played by Dandridge) to be handed over to civilian police after she is involved in a fight at the military controlled parachute factory where she works.

Answer: True

Belafonte was a major supporter of the civil rights movement and took part in the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, DC. He financially supported the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which was lead by Martin Luther King. During the campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, against segregation, Belafonte organized fundraising for the movement primarily to help pay bail for jailed activists, one of whom was Martin Luther King.

Answer: 'Jump Up Calypso'

The 1961 album 'Jump up Calypso' was the 11th album released by Belafonte. The song 'Jump in the Line' was composed by the Trinidadian musician Aldwyn Roberts, who used the stage name Lord Kitchener. The album 'Jump up Calypso' reached number 3 in the Billboard Album Charts in the US.

'Jump in the Line' is also called 'Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)'. It is about a girl who loves to dance. She urges people to jump in the line and join the line dance. You may have heard it played in 'Beetlejuice' (1988).

Answer: Famine relief in Africa

Belafonte was inspired to organise the production of a charity single in support of famine relief in Africa following the release of the single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid in the UK. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and featured many famous artists of the era, including Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, and Tina Turner. Belafonte did not sing a solo part in the recording, but was one of the people who sang in the chorus.