Book description
Written with Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Schnayerson, My
Song is an inspiring story of performance and protest, from a superstar
singer and actor who was on the front lines of practically every
progressive political battle in modern memory. Along the way, he
befriended some of the most influential figures of the 20th century,
from Tony Curtis, Marlon Brando and Sidney Poitier to Martin Luther
King, the Kennedys, Eleanor Roosevelt, Fidel Castro, James Baldwin, Bob
Dylan and Nelson Mandela. From his impoverished childhood in Harlem and
Jamaica, through his meteoric rise as an international calypso star,
provocative crossover into Hollywood where he broke down many racial
barriers, passionate lifelong involvement in the civil rights movement
and myriad other social causes, to his personal struggles and rich
friendships, this is a remarkable, multifaceted and hugely inspirational
story. "A man whose story should be told for generations to
come" (Robert Redford) A potent memoir of our times Harry
Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso made him the first artist in history to
sell more than one million LPs. He has won both a Tony award and an
Emmy, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President
Clinton. He has served a a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is the
recipient of Kennedy Center Honors for excellence in the performing
arts. He currently resides in New York City with his wife, Pamela.
Michael Shnayerson is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.
