HARRY BELAFONTE AFRICAN AMERICAN PROTEST RECORD

Updated September 24, 2026

AVAILABLE for SHIPPING or LOCAL PICKUP > Scarce 1964 RCA Victor promotional 45 RPM record, catalog SP-45-138, by Harry Belafonte, issued as an AIR-PLAY SPECIAL and clearly marked NOT FOR SALE. Side 1 features BACK OF THE BUS, with Side 2 TONE THE BELL EASY. Both selections were excerpted from Belafonte’s 1964 RCA Victor LP BALLADS, BLUES AND BOASTERS, LPM/LSP-2953. Discographic references identify SP-45-138 specifically as a promo-only 7-inch release. BACK OF THE BUS is an African American Civil Rights Movement freedom song associated with Charles “Carver” Neblett of the SNCC Freedom Singers. The song confronts Jim Crow segregation through a progression of images involving moving from the back to the front of a bus, participation in picket lines and jail protests, access to segregated swimming facilities, leaving cotton-field labor behind, and exercising the right to vote. In effect, the lyrics move through several central struggles of the Civil Rights era — desegregation, protest, equal access and voting rights. Sources describe the song as having become one of the movement’s freedom songs or anthems. Belafonte’s recording is particularly significant because of his own close association with the Civil Rights Movement and because RCA selected this Civil Rights song for a dedicated radio-promotion disc. AllMusic specifically characterizes Back of the Bus as a civil rights anthem and a protest number within Ballads, Blues and Boasters. Side 1 label reads RCA VICTOR ~ BELAFONTE ~ AIR-PLAY SPECIAL ~ SP-45-138 ~ RNKM-7080 ~ NOT FOR SALE ~ BACK OF THE BUS ~ 3:25. Side 2 carries RNKM-7081 and TONE THE BELL EASY ~ 3:20. MEDIA DISCLAIMER > Record has not been played for inspection. No representation is made regarding audio quality, surface noise, skips or other playback characteristics. Offered as an original vintage promotional recording of particular interest to collectors of Harry Belafonte, African American history, Civil Rights Movement material, protest music and RCA promotional records.

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