NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Harry Belafonte is turning 90 in a few weeks, and he\u2019s planning to use the milestone to release an album that will underscore part of his life\u2019s work \u2014 fostering racial harmony.
A multi-ethnic children\u2019s choir will perform a new version of his classic \u201cIsland in the Sun\u201d for a new anthology of his music, \u201cWhen Colors Come Together: The Legacy of Harry Belafonte.\u201d He co-wrote the song for the 1957 film \u201cIsland in the Sun.\u201d It generated controversy at the time for its exploration of race and interracial romance.
\u201cMost of the things that fuel prejudice, that fuels hate \u2026 are contrived,\u201d Belafonte, who turns 90 on March 1, said in a release. \u201cThe differences that exist between us should be things that attract us to one another, not alienate us from one another.\u201d
Belafonte has been a longtime civil rights activist, marching with the likes of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He is an honorary co-chair of the Women\u2019s March on Saturday in Washington.
According to the official album release statement:
The film, \u201cIsland In The Sun\u201d explored themes of racial tension and interracial romance in an explosive drama based on Alec Waugh\u2019s 1955 novel. \u201cWith the myriad of problems facing the world today, none embody the passion and life\u2019s work of Belafonte more than the issue of race. Coming from a background of diversity he evolved into a performing artist with a deep, lifelong commitment to social activism. In the spirit of that commitment and at the forefront of this important effort is a re-imagining of one of Harry\u2019s classic recordings that took the world by storm,\u201d wrote David Belafonte in his liner notes to the album. \u201cWe are proud to present \u2018When Colors Come Together (Our Island In The Sun)\u2019: re-interpreted for children; and re-recorded by children. We hasten to make the case that the concept of race is not a trait with which one is born, but instead an acquired disease that festers with age. As such, we looked to these young children as the voice of this expression through this reimagined song, dance, and art.\u201d
The album is set for release on Feb. 24. Here is the track list for \u201cWhen Colors Come Together\u2026 The Legacy of Harry Belafonte\u201d:
1) When Colors Come Together (Our Island In The Sun) (newly recorded for this album)
2) Jump In The Line (1961 \u2013 Jump Up Calypso)
3) Banana Boat (Day-O) (1956 \u2013 Calypso)
4) All My Trials (1959 \u2013 Love is a Gentle Thing)
5) Empty Chairs (1973 \u2013 Play Me)
6) Matilda (1956 \u2013 Belafonte)
7) Angelina (1961 \u2013 Jump Up Calypso)
8) Turn The World Around (1977 \u2013 Turn The World Around)
9) Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) (1956 \u2013 Belafonte)
10) Abraham, Martin and John (1970 \u2013 Belafonte By Request)
11) On Top of Old Smokey (1962 \u2013 The Midnight Special)
12) Jamaica Farewell (1956 \u2013 Calypso)
13) Brown Skin Girl (1956 \u2013 Calypso)
14) Island In The Sun (From \u201cIsland In The Sun\u201d) (1957 \u2013 Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean)
15) Those Three Are On My Mind (1967 \u2013 Belafonte On Campus)
16) Try To Remember (1966 \u2013 In My Quiet Room)
17) Mary\u2019s Boy Child (1956 \u2013 An Evening with Belafonte)
18) Look Over Yonder\/Be My Woman, Gal (Live) (1972 \u2013 Harry Belafonte\u2026Live!)
19 ) Pastures of Plenty (Live) (1972 \u2013 Harry Belafonte\u2026Live!)<\/p>\n

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