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Today's Morning Edition music is from "Day-O," one of Harry Belafonte's signature songs, which he recorded 60 years ago Tuesday. 

It's derived from a Jamaican folk song originally sung by banana pickers who worked the night shift. The workers had to wait until a supervisor verified how many bananas they had picked before they could go home.

It's an example of the Jamaican music style known as mento, which had a big influence on the sound that became known as ska and reggae.

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It's an example of the Jamaican music style known as mento, which had a big influence on the sound that became known as ska and reggae.


Today's Morning Edition music is from "Day-O" one of Harry Belafonte's signature songs which he recorded 60 years ago today. It's derived from a Jamaican folk song originally sung by banana pickers who worked the night shift. The workers had to wait until a supervisor verified how many bananas they had picked before they could go home. It's an example of the Jamaican music style known as mento which had a big influence on the sound which became known as ska and reggae.

Belafonte's 'Day-O' recorded 60 years ago

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