[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16007-16008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        TRIBUTE TO IRVING BURGIE

 Mr. BURRIS. Mr. President, I stand today to honor a great man 
of American music--a man whose name is largely unknown, but his music 
is known and loved around the world. This man is Mr. Irving Burgie.
  Mr. Irving Burgie more popularly known as ``Lord Burgess'' was born 
in Brooklyn, NY, in 1924. He was raised in the close-knit West Indian-
American community of New York City during the Great Depression.
  The Second World War took him from Brooklyn to the other side of the 
world in the jungles of what is now Thailand. Under the guns of the 
Japanese army, a young Irving Burgie and other troops in the segregated 
Army of the time built and maintained the famous ``Burma Road.''
  Following the war, Mr. Burgie studied music at Julliard, the 
University of Arizona, and the University of California.
  While performing in New York in the mid-1950s, he met Harry 
Belafonte. This was the beginning of a collaboration that would lead to 
the 1956 release of ``Calypso,'' the first album to sell 1 million 
copies. The album included Irving Burgie's adaptation of ``The Banana 
Boat Song'' better known as ``Day-O'' and spent 99 weeks on the charts.
  Irving Burgie is credited with composing and arranging over 50 songs 
on ASCAP. He wrote the ``National Anthem of Barbados'' his beloved 
mother's native land. His world-famous songs, including ``Island in the 
Sun'' and ``Jamaica Farewell,'' have been recorded by Harry Belafonte, 
Miriam Makeba, The Kingston Trio and Jimmy Buffet and featured in the 
hit movies ``Island in the Sun'' and ``Beetlejuice.''
  In his later years, Mr. Irving Burgie helped to form the Black Men of 
Queens County Federation, an organization devoted to helping African-

[[Page 16008]]

American young men find their own success, through mentoring and 
scholarship programs. He later established the Irving Burgie Award for 
Excellence in Literary and Creative Arts.
  Irving Burgie is a songwriter, author, and committed citizen who has 
brought joy to the world through music and has contributed to the best 
of American culture and society.

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