Harry Belafonte’s music made 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice.’ Here’s how it happened

Late entertainer Harry Belafonte once explained why he let director Tim Burton and music mogul David Geffen use his recordings in the 1988 comedy “Beetlejuice.” You can’t have “Beetlejuice” without Harry Belafonte. The oddball feature utilized the King of Calypso’s infectious mid-century tunes — “Jump in the Line,” “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” and “Sweetheart from Venezuela” — to comedic perfection that juxtaposed the film’s stuffy newcomers with the quaint old guard who appeared to be Belafonte fans. Belafonte’s recordings were reportedly cheaper to license too, although Belafonte declined to comment on the licensing matters, telling Pitchfork, “If I get into my personal finances, you’re gonna want to kidnap me!” Elsewhere in the film, Delia’s goth daughter Lydia jubilantly levitates to Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line,” further giving the offbeat horror spoof the playful lightness and specter of mischief that made it a cult classic. “It’s a ghost story taking place in a New England-style house,” screenwriter Larry Wilson, who wrote the original story with late novelist Michael McDowell, told Pitchfork.