There are songs that define movies and vice versa. One of the most remembered cases is that of a recently deceased Harry Belafonte and ‘Bitelchús’, the eighties classic Tim Burton who used his songs because They fit the scene… and the budget.
calypso rhythm
We recently said goodbye to Harry Belafonte, legendary American musician who died at the age of 96. The “King of Calipso” made history in music and in the cinema, since there are many occasions in which his songs complemented great titles of the seventh art.
One of the most remembered is that of ‘Bitelchús’, the paranormal comedy that launched Tim Burton’s career in 1988. His song ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ became part of the moviegoer’s imagination thanks to that funny scene in which the characters start dancing at dinner, possessed by a mysterious force that forces them to do so.
But it’s not the only Belafonte song that we can hear on the tape starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder: the song ‘Jumpi in the line (Shake Señora)’ also appears in the scene where Lydia starts to fly.
The decision to use Belafonte’s songs in the film came about during the filming of the dinner scene itself, in which Catherine O’Hara proposed giving the sequence a little more life with calypso music and suggested songs like ‘Rum and Coca Cola’ or ‘Day-O’ itself.
But what tipped the balance in favor of the songs by the musician of Jamaican descent was the film’s tight budget, which he could afford to pay for them at a really affordable price: “I think it was about 300 dollars” recalled Jeffrey Jones, one of the interpreters.
Producer David Geffen contacted the musician and asked for permission to use his songs in the film. This is how Belafonte remembered it: “They had never proposed anything like this to me. We talked a little, I liked the idea of ’Bitelchús’ and I agreed to do it“.
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