RCA Singles

S4) Singles for RCA
(Folk, Calypso, World)

Aside :-
As Harry Belafonte came into his own as a concert artist in the mid 1950s, his program quickly incorporated material from around the globe, touching on all musical genres. Consequently, it is inappropriate to refer to the body of work that he has delivered to the RCA vaults as simply, folk music.

Clarification :-
In the interest of narrowing our focus to the essential library of original recordings, this listing excludes all RCA single-play records where both sides have been drawn from long-play albums. When one side is an LP extract the title appears in square brackets (e.g. [Troubles] ).


Title	Time	Year	Catalog No.	Matrix No.	Notes

Chiminey Smoke	2:03	1952	47-4676	E2VW-5957
A-Roving	3:23	1952		E2VW-5958
with Orchestra and Chorus directed by Hugo Winterhalter 3 April 1952, Manhattan Center, West 34th Street, N.Y.C. Produced by Hy Grill

Man Smart (Woman Smarter) *	2:30	1952	47-4892	E2VW-6838	(1)
Jerry (This Timber Got To Roll) *	2:31	1952		E2VW-6868
Instrumental Accompaniment and Male Chorus Directed by Eddie Sauter 1 August 1952, Studio 2, 155 East 24th Street, N.Y.C. Produced by Hy Grill & Dave Kapp

Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) *	2:42	1952	47-5051	E2VW-6872
Shenandoah *	3:15	1952		E2VW-6873
with Millard Thomas, Guitar and Male Chorus Directed by Eddie Sauter 1 August 1952, Studio 2, 155 East 24th Street, N.Y.C. Produced by Hy Grill & Dave Kapp

Titles also issued on the 45 rpm EP, Harry Belafonte Sings Man Smart*, RCA-EPA-412.

Gomen Nasai (Forgive Me)	2:31	1953	47-5210	E3VW-0543
Springfield Mountain (Too Roo De Nay)	2:28	1953		E3VW-0544
with Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Henri René Recorded 6 February 1953 Produced by Dave Kapp

Matilda, Matilda	2:27	1953	47-5311	E3VW-1095	(2)
Suzanne (Every Night When The Sun Goes Down)	3:09	1953		E3VW-0548
with Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Henri René Recorded 27 April & 6 February 1953 Produced by Hy Grill & Dave Kapp

Kukla-Mu	3:04	1953			(9)
with Orchestra and Chorus

Hold 'Em Joe	2:30	1954	47-5617	E4VW-2807
I'm Just A Country Boy	3:00	1954		E4VW-2806
with Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra (22 musicians) Recorded 4 January 1954 Produced by Joe Carlton

Pretty As A Rainbow (After The Rain)	2:17	1954	47-5722	E4VW-2804
Acorn In The Meadow	2:39	1954		E4VW-2805
with Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra

[Troubles]	3:38	1955	47-6249	F2PW-5805
Hello Everybody	2:13	1955		F2PW-5804
with Tony Scott and his Orchestra

The Blues Is Man-Part 1	2:50	1956	47-6458	G2PW-1826
The Blues Is Man-Part 2	2:52	1956		G2PW-1827
with Orchestra arranged and conducted by Will Lorin

Jamaica Farewell	2:46	1956	47-6663	G2PW-4916	(3)
Once Was	2:53	1956		G2PW-4908	(4)
William Lorin, Conductor

Mary's Boy Child	2:53	1956	47-6735	G2PW-4902	(4)
Venezuela	2:50	1953		E3VW-1096
a) William Lorin, Conductor Millard Thomas and Frantz Casseus, Guitars b) with Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Henri René Recorded 27 April 1953

Danny Boy	4:43	1956	47-6790	G2PW-4905	(5)
[Take My Mother Home]	6:00	1955		F2PW-5800
a) William Lorin, Conductor Millard Thomas and Frantz Casseus, Guitars b) with Tony Scott and his Orchestra

Mama Look A Boo Boo	2:58	1957	47-6830	H2PW-1273	(10)
[Don't Ever Love Me]	2:46	1957		H2PW-1276
with Bob Corman's Orchestra and Chorus, featuring M. Thomas, F. Casseus, V. Messer on Guitars
Cocoanut Woman	2:46	1957	47-6885	H2PW-1274	(6)
[Island In The Sun]	3:21	1957		H2PW-1279
with Bob Corman's Orchestra and Chorus, featuring M. Thomas, F. Casseus, V. Messer on Guitars

The Marching Saints	2:55	1957	47-7176	J2PW-0919
Did You Hear About Jerry	2:55	1957		J2PW-0932
a) with The Harry Belafonte Singers and Orchestra conducted by Bob Corman b) Victor Messer and Millard Thomas, Guitars and Drums

Ain't That Love	2:28	1958	47-7289	J2PW-1202
The Waiting Game	3:08	1958		J2PW-1186
a) with Orchestra conducted by Dennis Farnon b) with The Harry Belafonte Singers and Orchestra conducted by Bob Corman

Gotta Travel On	2:42	1958	47-7445	J2PW-8372
Tarrytown	2:45	1958		J2PW-8373
with The Belafonte Singers and Orchestra conducted by Bob Corman

(Mary's Boy Child)	2:53	1956	47-1008	G2PW-4902
Little Bernadette	3:06	1958		J2HAW-0566	(8)
a) William Lorin, Conductor Millard Thomas and Frantz Casseus, Guitars b) Orchestra conducted by Bob Corman

Darlin' Cora	3:39	1959	47-7491	K2PW-1757
[Turn Around]	2:23	1958		J2PW-0910
a) with The Belafonte Singers and Orchestra conducted by Bob Corman b) with Orchestra conducted by Alan Greene

Round The Bay Of Mexico	2:46	1959	47-7550	K2PW-1756
[Fifteen]	2:52	1958		J2PW-0909
a) with The Belafonte Singers conducted by Bob Corman b) with Orchestra conducted by Alan Greene
Roll On Buddy	2:45	1965	47-8717	SK3M-5009
Little Bit Of Rain	2:49	1965		SK3M-5010
Conducted by Bill Eaton

Hurry Sundown	2:25	1967	47-9075	TPKM-4293
[Mama Look A Boo Boo]	3:07	1966		TPKM-4263	(7)
a) Arranged and conducted by Bill Eaton Produced by Andy Wisell b) Arrangements by Bob Freedman, Orchestra conducted by Howard A. Roberts

A Strange Song	2:30	1967	47-9263	UPKM-6727
Sunflower	2:37	1967		UPKM-6728
Arranged and conducted by Martin Manning
Pastures Of Plenty	3:28	1972	74-0628	APKS-8492
Women	3:34	1972		APKS-8493
Orchestra conducted by John Cartwright With the Howard Roberts Chorale Strings on b) side arranged by Jack K. Pleis Produced by Jack K. Pleis

Notes on Singles for RCA:-

1. The first reading of Man Smart from 1952.
2. This is truly the original recording of Matilda from 1953 and should not be confused with the up-tempo show-stopper of later years.
3. The arrangement of Jamaica Farewell (recorded 24 July 1956) that made its way up the charts in 1956-57. It quite distinct from the earlier (9 Nov. 1955), Island-flavoured track show-cased in the Calypso album. It is worthy of note that the LP version is the one that prevails today.
4. Alternate takes of Once Was and Mary's Boy Child chosen for release on single because of their shorter duration. The corresponding LP tracks are concert length. To encourage air-play by the disc jockeys of the day, single-play records were generally kept to within 3 minutes. This left the prerequisite windows for commercials and chat.
5. A shortened rendering of Danny Boy which is missing the mood-setting spoken introduction that leads off the LP track.
6. This offering of Cocoanut differs from the one which appears on the Caribbean album. The LP track exits on an extended scat romp which is absent from the single (end fade-out).
7. The Calypso in Brass rendition of Booboo.
8. Little Bernadette first appeared in Europe as the flip side to Mary's Boy Child and was never released in North America. It resurfaced in 1981 on a vinyl compilation titled, Rare Belafonte (PL43683) issued by RCA Germany.
9. See "Treasure Trove".
10. Mama Look At Bubu (note the unusual spelling) was the only single issued directly under this cover. A black banner set it apart from the other (20) "best of Belafonte" singles which were, in reality, re-releases.

Time out for a Little History:-

RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm (7 in.) vinyl record in 1949 and within 2 years existing jukeboxes had been retrofitted to accommodate the smaller platters. A year earlier Columbia had come out with the 33 rpm long-play concept intended for musical shows and light classics. With these developments, listeners began the long and costly process of acquiring home Hi Fi systems with multi-speed changers (78, 45, & 33 rpm). During the transition period the major labels continued to manufacture 78 rpm (10 in.) records as an optional format. Made from shellac, they were prone to breakage and high surface noise but, in spite of these drawbacks, many long-standing music lovers were unhappy with the change to vinyl. However, by 1957 RCA felt they could safely retire the 78 rpm disc without threat of serious repercussions.

The catalogue numbers that appear in the foregoing listing are for 45 rpm records, but it is important to note that most pre-1957 titles were also available on 78 rpm.