Australian singles chart:
Jamaica Farewell entered the Kent charts on 9 February 1957 and peaked at #2. It was #16 on the Top 100 of 1957.
Album:
The song is on Harry’s album Calypso which charted in Australia in 1957.
Songwriter:
Irving Burgie
Record label of Australian release:
RCA
Wikipedia:
Jamaica Farewell is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half-Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.
Many, including Belafonte himself, have said that the song was popular in the West Indies since long before Burgess. It is believed that Burgess compiled and modified the song from many folk pieces to make a new song. Burgess acknowledged his use of the tune of another mento, Iron Bar.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica_Farewell
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
New to Bang a Gong? Click HERE to learn more about us.