The Jolly Boys, who formed during the classic era of mento, pay tribute to a man who helped put Caribbean music on the map, with Day-O, their latest song.

Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) was originally recorded by Harry Belafonte for Calypso, his groundbreaking 1956 album. The Jolly Boys’ version is the lead single from their album of the same name, scheduled for release late this year.

Belafonte, whose mother was Jamaican, died in April at age 96.

Rick Elgood, a spokesman for The Jolly Boys, told the Jamaica Observer that songs for Day-O were recorded in 2019 at Geejam studios in Port Antonio, their hometown.

“Day-O is the most well-known mento track worldwide and so, inevitably, it was among the first selection for this album. It is a track that both young and old will have heard some time, somewhere, and therefore a great way of introducing other less well-known mento to the world audience,” he said.

The song was co-produced by Dale Virgo and Geejam principal Jon Baker, who, like Elgood, played integral roles in The Jolly Boys’ rise from obscure hotel band to international fame.

Although recorded four years before his death, Elgood said Day-O is a fitting tribute to Belafonte, a trailblazing actor/singer who spent some of his youth in St Ann and Kingston.

“When Harry Belafonte transitioned we thought the best way to honour him was with its release, a direct tribute to the man who had been so important in bringing the mento/calypso sound from the Caribbean to the ears of the world back in 1956,” he disclosed.

The original Jolly Boys formed in 1945 in Port Antonio which at the time was Jamaica’s tourism hub. Mento was so popular that in the early 1950s pioneer music producers such as Ken Khouri recorded acts like Lord Flea for his fledgling Federal Records.

While Calypso was a global sensation, mento/calypso never caught on outside the Caribbean. Mento made a comeback in Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s through Stanley Beckford and The Astronauts. With the support of Baker, The Jolly Boys followed suit in 2010 with Great Expectation, a well-received album produced by Virgo.

It earned The Jolly Boys tours of Europe, the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong. They were the subject of feature stories by Associated Press and The New York Times.

Elgood, a film-maker whose credits include Dancehall Queen and One Love, has documented their remarkable rise in the recording studio and on tour.

During his time with The Jolly Boys, they have lost six members: Cedric Watson (banjo), Joseph “Powda” Bennett (maracas and backing vocals), Albert Minnott (lead singer), Derrick “Jonny” Henry (rhumba box and backing vocals), Alan Swymmer (vocals and guitar), and Lenford “Brutus” Richards (guitar and banjo).

The current members are: Noel Howard (guitar), Karl Thompson (singer), Donovan Miller (percussion), and Lawrence Christie (rhumba box).