This was the last of Harry Belafonte's seven UK singles hits. The first was The Banana Boat Song (Day–O) in 1957, which reached No. 2. His follow–up, Island in the Sun, peaked at No. 3. His next hit, Scarlet Ribbons, stalled at No. 18, but in November 1957 he finally reached No. 1 with Mary's Boy Child. Little Bernadette and The Son of Mary both made the Top 20 in 1958.
Odetta Holmes was an established singer of blues and folk songs, with two US hit albums to her name, and another to follow in 1963. She was named as a major influence not only by Harry Belafonte, but by such legends as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin and Carly Simon.
© Haydn Thompson 2021