Harry Belafonte, legendary singer and activist, dies at 96

Legendary singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte, famous for the "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" and sparking a calypso craze in the United States, died Tuesday in his Manhattan home from congestive heart failure. He was 96.

Belafonte's spokesperson from the public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis confirmed his death to the media and said his wife, Pamela, was by his side.

Belafonte was one of the first black singers to sell a million records. He also worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and met with politicians and fellow entertainers to fight for civil rights. He went on to work to end apartheid in South Africa.

He was unafraid to criticize everyone from Southern segregationists, Northern liberals, the conservative Koch brothers and President Barack Obama. 

Belafonte, who was born to Jamaican immigrants in New York City in 1927, is also survived by four children, two stepchildren and eight grandchildren.