Miriam Makeba
Makeba during a performance
Background information
Birth name	Zenzile Miriam Makeba[1]
Also known as	Mama Afrika
Born	(1932-03-04)4 March 1932 Prospect Township, Johannesburg, South Africa
Died	10 November 2008(2008-11-10) (aged 76) Castel Volturno, Italy
Genres	Marabi, World music, folk, pop rock, jazz
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active	1954–2008
Labels	Manteca, RCA, Mercury Records, Kapp Records, Collectables, Suave Music, Warner Bros., PolyGram, Drg, Stern's Africa, Kaz, Sonodisc
Website	Official website

Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 10 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist.

In the 1960s she was the first artist from Africa to popularize African music in the U.S. and around the world. She is best known for the song "Pata Pata", first recorded in 1957 and released in the U.S. in 1967. She recorded and toured with many popular artists, such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, and her former husband Hugh Masekela.

She actively campaigned against the South African system of apartheid. As a result, the South African government revoked her citizenship and right of return. After the end of apartheid she returned home. She died on 10 November 2008 after performing in a concert organized to support writer Roberto Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like organisation local to the Region of Campania.

Early years[link]

Zenzile Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932. Her mother was a Swazi sangoma (traditional healer-herbalist). Her father, who died when she was six years old, was a Xhosa. When she was eighteen days old, her mother was arrested for selling umqombothi, an African homemade beer brewed from malt and cornmeal. Her mother was sentenced to a six-month prison term, so Miriam spent her first six months of life in jail.^[2][3] As a child, she sang in the choir of the Kilmerton Training Institute in Pretoria, a primary school that she attended for eight years.^[4][5]

At the age of seventeen, Makeba gave birth to her only child, Bongi Makeba. She was then diagnosed with breast cancer, and her first husband left her shortly afterwards.^[6]

Her professional career began in the 1950s when she was featured in the South African jazz group the Manhattan Brothers, and appeared for the first time on a poster. She left the Manhattan Brothers to record with her all-woman group, The Skylarks,^[7] singing a blend of jazz and traditional melodies of South Africa.^[2] As early as 1956, she released the single "Pata Pata".^[5] The single was played on all the radio stations and made her known throughout South Africa.^[8] Although she was a successful recording artist, she only received a few dollars for each recording session and no provisional royalties, and was keen to leave home.^{[citation needed]}

She had a short-lived marriage in 1959.^[6] Her break came in that year when she had a short guest appearance in Come Back, Africa, an anti-apartheid documentary produced and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The short cameo made an enormous impression on the viewers and Lionel Rogosin managed to organise a visa for her to attend the première of the film at the twenty-fourth Venice Film Festival in Italy, where the film won the prestigious Critics' Award.^[9][10][11] That year, Makeba sang the lead female role in the Broadway-inspired South African musical King Kong,^[4] alongside Hugh Masekela, who she married in 1964.^[6][2] She made her US debut on 1 November 1959, on The Steve Allen Show.^[5][12]

Exile[link]

Makeba then travelled to London where she met Harry Belafonte, who assisted her in gaining entry to the United States and achieving fame there.^[14] When she tried to return to South Africa in 1960 for her mother's funeral, she discovered that her South African passport had been cancelled.^[15] She signed with RCA Records and released Miriam Makeba, her first U.S. studio album, in 1960.^[15] In 1962, Makeba and Belafonte sang at John F. Kennedy's birthday party at Madison Square Garden, but Makeba did not go to the aftershow party because she was ill. President Kennedy insisted on meeting her, so Belafonte sent a car to pick her up and she met the President of the United States.^[16] In 1963, Makeba released her second studio album for RCA, The World of Miriam Makeba. The album, an early example of world music, peaked at number eighty-six on the Billboard 200.^[15][17] Later that year, after testifying against apartheid before the United Nations, her South African citizenship and her right to return to the country were revoked.^[4] She was a woman without a country, but the world came to her aid, and Guinea, Belgium and Ghana issued her international passports, and she became, in effect, a citizen of the world.^[15] In her life, she had nine passports,^[2] and was granted honorary citizenship in ten countries.^[16]

In 1966 Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte for An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.^[10][17] The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid, and it was one of the first American albums to present traditional Zulu, Sotho and Swahili songs in an authentic setting.^[15] From the time of her New York debut at the Village Vanguard, her fame and reputation grew. She released many of her most famous hits in the United States, including "The Click Song" ("Qongqothwane" in Xhosa) and "Malaika". Time called her the "most exciting new singing talent to appear in many years," and Newsweek compared her voice to "the smoky tones and delicate phrasing" of Ella Fitzgerald and the "intimate warmth" of Frank Sinatra.^[2] Despite the success that made her a star in the U.S., she wore no makeup and refused to curl her hair for shows, thus establishing a style that would come to be known internationally as the "Afro look".^[9] In 1967, more than ten years after she wrote the song, the single "Pata Pata" was released in the United States and became a worldwide hit.^[5]

Her marriage to Trinidad-born civil rights activist, Black Panther, and Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968 caused controversy in the United States, and her record deals and tours were cancelled.^[5] As a result, the couple moved to Guinea,^[4] her home for the next 15 years, where they became close with President Ahmed Sékou Touré and his wife, Andrée.^[2][19] Makeba was appointed Guinea's official delegate to the United Nations, for which she won the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize in 1986.^{[5][10][20][21]} She also separated from Carmichael in 1973 and continued to perform primarily in Africa, Europe and Asia, but not in the United States, where a de facto boycott was in effect.^[18] Makeba was one of the entertainers at the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held in Zaïre.^[22] She addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the second time in 1975.^[2] She divorced Carmichael in 1978 and married an airline executive in 1980.^[6]

After the death of her daughter Bongi in 1985, she decided to move to Brussels.^[2] In the following year, Hugh Masekela introduced Makeba to Paul Simon, and a few months later she embarked on the very successful Graceland Tour, which was documented on music video.^[23][18][24] Two concerts held in Harare, Zimbabwe, were filmed in 1987 for release as Graceland: The African Concert. After touring the world with Simon, Warner Bros. Records signed Makeba and she released Sangoma ("Healer"), an a cappella album of healing chants named in honour of her mother who was an "isangoma" ("a healer").^[18] Shortly thereafter her autobiography Makeba: My Story was published and subsequently translated from English into other languages including German, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish.^[5] She took part in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million.^[25] Also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert, and Mandela Day, the event called for Mandela's release.

Return to South Africa[link]

Makeba and Dizzy Gillespie in Calvados, France, 1991

Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Tribute increased pressure on the government of South Africa to release Mandela, and in 1990, State President of South Africa Frederik Willem de Klerk reversed the ban on the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid organisations, and announced that Nelson Mandela would shortly be released from prison.^[26] Mandela, who was effectively released from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl on 11 February 1990,^[27] persuaded Miriam Makeba to return to South Africa. She returned home on 10 June 1990, on her French passport.^[2][28]

In 1991, Makeba, with Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone and Masekela, recorded and released her studio album, Eyes on Tomorrow. The album combined jazz, R&B, pop, and African music, and was a hit in Africa. Makeba and Gillespie then toured the world together to promote it.^[18] In November of the same year, she made a guest appearance in the episode "Olivia Comes Out of the Closet" of The Cosby Show. In 1992 she starred in the film Sarafina!. The film's plot centers on students involved in the 1976's Soweto youth uprisings, and Makeba portrayed the title character's mother, "Angelina". The following year she released Sing Me a Song.

On 16 October 1999, Miriam Makeba was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).^[29] In January 2000, her album, Homeland, produced by Cedric Samson and Michael Levinsohn for the New York City based record label Putumayo World Music,^[30] was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best World Music Album category.^[31] She worked closely with Graça Machel-Mandela, who at the time was the South African first lady, for children suffering from HIV/AIDS, child soldiers, and the physically handicapped.^[2]

In 2001 she was awarded the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold by the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding".^[10] She shared the Polar Music Prize with Sofia Gubaidulina.^[10] The prize is regarded as Sweden's foremost musical honour. They received their Prize from Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden during a nationally-televised ceremony at Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, on 27 May 2002.^[32] She also took part in the 2002 documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony where she and others recalled the struggles of black South Africans against the injustices of apartheid through the use of music. In 2004, Makeba was voted 38th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Makeba started a worldwide farewell tour in 2005, holding concerts in all of those countries that she had visited during her working life.^[16]

Death and legacy[link]

On 9 November 2008, she became ill while taking part in a concert organized to support writer Roberto Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like organisation local to the Region of Campania. The concert was being held in Castel Volturno, near Caserta, Italy. Makeba suffered a heart attack after singing her hit song "Pata Pata", and was taken to the "Pineta Grande" clinic where doctors were unable to revive her.^{[33][n 1][34][35]} Her publicist notes that Makeba had suffered "severe arthritis" for some time.^[36] She and family members were based in Northriding, Gauteng, at the time of her death.

On 25, 26 and 27 September 2009, a tribute show to Makeba entitled "Hommage à Miriam Makeba" and curated by Grammy Award-winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo for the Festival d'Ile de France, was held at the Cirque d'hiver in Paris.^[37] The same show but with the English title of "Mama Africa: Celebrating Miriam Makeba" was held at the Barbican in London on 21 November 2009.^[38]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• The Many Voices of Miriam Makeba (1960) (LP Kapp KL1274)
• Miriam Makeba (1960) (LP RCA LSP2267)
• The World of Miriam Makeba (1963) (LP RCA LSP2750) #86 (US)^[17]
• The Voice of Africa (1964) (LP RCA LSP2845) #122 (US)^[17]
• Makeba Sings! (1965) (LP RCA LSP3321)
• An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965) (LP with Harry Belafonte; RCA LSP3420; Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording) #85 (US)^[17]
• The Magic of Makeba (1965) (LP RCA LSP3512)
• The Magnificent Miriam Makeba (1966) (LP Mercury 134016)
• All About Miriam (1966) (LP Mercury 134029)
• Pata Pata (1967) (LP Reprise RS6274) #74 (US)^[17]
• Makeba! (1968) (LP Reprise RS6310)
• Keep Me in Mind (1970) (LP Reprise RS6381)
• A Promise (1974) (LP RCA YSPL1-544)
• Miriam Makeba & Bongi (1975) (LP with Bongi Makeba; Guinea: Editions Syliphone Conakry SLP 48)
• Country Girl (1978) (LP Sonodisc ESP165518)
• Comme une symphonie d'amour (1979) (LP Sonodisc ESP 7501)
• Sangoma (1988) (CD Warner Bros. 25673)
• Welela (1989) (CD Gallo CDGSP3084) #6 (US)^[17]
• Eyes on Tomorrow (1991) (CD Gallo CDGSP3086) #10 (US)^[17]
• Sing Me a Song (1993) (CD CDS12702)
• Homeland (2000) (CD Putumayo PUTU1642)
• Reflecting (2004) (CD Gallo Music GWVCD-51) #12 (US)^[17]
• Makeba Forever (2006) (CD Gallo Music CDGURB-082)

Live albums[link]

• Miriam Makeba in Concert! (1967) (LP) (Reprise RS6253) #182 (US)^[17]
• Live in Tokyo (1968) (LP) (Reprise SJET8082)
• Live in Conakry: Appel a l'Afrique (1974) (LP) (Sonodisc SLP22)
• Enregistrement public au Theatre des Champs-Elysées (1977) (LP) (released on CD6508 as Pata Pata: Live in Paris in 1998)
• Live at Berns Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden, 1966 (2003) (CD) (Gallo Music GWVCD-49)

Compilations[link]

• The Best of Miriam Makeba (LP) Canada: RCA Victor LSP-3982, 1968
• Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba (as Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba) (2xLP) Camden PJL2-8042, 1975
• Miriam Makeba (LP) Italy: Record Bazaar RB 254, 1980
• The Queen of African Music (CD) Verlag Pläne 831 655-938, 1987
• Africa (CD) Germany: Novus 3155-2-N/ND 83155, 1991
• Miriam Makeba and The Skylarks: Volume 1 (as Miriam Makeba and The Skylarks; Remastered from 78/45 RPM recorded between 1956 and 1959) (CD) TELCD 2303, 1991
• Folk Songs from Africa (CD) SAAR CD 12514, 1994
• En public à Paris et Conakry (CD), 1996
• Hits and Highlights (CD), 1997
• Miriam Makeba and The Skylarks: Volume 2 (as Miriam Makeba and The Skylarks; Remastered from 78/45 RPM recorded between 1956 and 1959) (CD) TELCD 2315, 1997
• The Best of Miriam Makeba (CD) BMG, 2000
• Legend (CD) Next Music CDSL21, 2001
• Mama Africa: The Very Best of Miriam Makeba (CD), 2001
• The Guinea Years (CD/LP) STCD3017/SLP48, 2001
• Mother Africa: The Black Anthology (CD), 2002
• The Best of Miriam Makeba: The Early Years (CD) Wrasse WRASS 088, 2002
• The Definitive Collection (CD) UK: Wrasse WRASS 062, 2002
• Her Essential Recordings (2xCD) Manteca MANTDBL502, 2006
• Mama Afrika 1932-2008 (CD) Gallo, 2009

Extended plays[link]

• Makeba - Belafonte (as Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte) (Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM) Germany: RCA Victor EPA 9035, 1961
• The Click Song (Vinyl, 7", EP) France: London RE 10.145, 1963
• Chants d'Afrique (Vinyl, 7") France: RCA Victor 86.374, 1964

Singles[link]

• "Duze" (1956) (10-inch shellac 78 rpm mono Gallotone GB.2062)
• "Pass Office Special" (1957) (10-inch shellac 78 rpm mono Gallotone GB.2134)
• "The Click Song" / "Mbube" (1963) (7-inch vinyl London HL 9747)
• "Malaika" / "Malcolm X" (1965) (7-inch vinyl Kenya: Sonafric SYL 565)
• "Pata Pata" (1967) (7-inch vinyl Reprise 0606) #12 (US)^[17]
• "Malayisha" (1967) (7-inch vinyl Reprise)
• "Emavungwini" (1968) (7-inch vinyl France, Spain: Reprise)
• "I Shall Be Released" / "Iphi Ndilela (Show Me the Way)" (1969) (7-inch vinyl Germany: Reprise RA 0804)
• "Pata Pata" / "Click Song Number 1" (1972) (7-inch vinyl Germany, Netherlands: Reprise REP 14 217)
• "We Got to Make It" / "Promise" (1975) 7-inch vinyl with Instrumentalgruppe German Democratic Republic: AMIGA 4 56 044, 1974, and France: Disques Espérance)
• "Pata Pata" / "Malayisha" (1976) (7-inch vinyl Italy: Reprise 14 267, released in France in 1978)
• "Hauteng" / "Talking and Dialoging" (1978) (7-inch vinyl France: Disques Espérance ESP 155027)
• "Comme une symphonie d'amour" (1979) (7-inch vinyl France: Disques Espérance ESP 65.009)
• "Give Me a Reason" / "Africa" (1989) (7-inch vinyl Italy: Philips 875 308-7)
• "Pata Pata 2000" (2000) (CD Putumayo PUTU 919-S)

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Sources[link]

Books

Journals and magazines

Web

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miriam Makeba

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Miriam Makeba

The Song of Miriam (Miriam right), reproduction of a painting by William Gale (1823-1909)

Miriam (Hebrew: מִרְיָם, Modern Miryam Tiberian Miryām ; Arabic: مريم (Maryam); see Miriam (given name)) was the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the daughter of Amram and Jochebed. She appears first in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible.

Biblical account[link]

At her mother Jochebed's request, Miriam hid her baby brother Moses by the side of a river to evade the Pharaoh’s order that newborn Hebrew boys be killed. She watched as the Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the infant and decided to adopt him. Miriam then suggested that the princess take on a nurse for the child, and suggested Jochebed; as a result, Moses was raised to be familiar with his background as a Hebrew. (Exodus 2:1-10)

Miriam is called a prophetess, and is traditionally believed to have sung a brief victory song after Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21).

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

It is considered by many that this poetic couplet is one of the oldest parts of the Biblical account.

She raised a Timbrel in her hand in joy.

Later, she objected to the marriage of Moses to a Cushite woman, which made her guilty of speaking Lashon hara (gossiping, or speaking negatively about someone), for which she was struck with tzaraat. After Aaron asked Moses to intercede for her, Moses uttered a five-word prayer:“O Lord, make her well,” and she recovered within seven days. (Numbers 12) A passage in Micah suggests she had a legacy with significant regard among later prophets: “And I brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam.” (Micah 6:4)

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances." (Exodus 15:20).
Illuminated manuscript, Tomić Psalter, 1360/63, Moscow State Historical Museum

Marriage[link]

Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews states that Miriam was the wife of Hur, who is mentioned in Exodus as a close companion of Moses.^[1] However, in the Targum to I Chron. ii. 19, iv. 4, Miriam is said to be Hur's mother, asserting that Ephrath, the wife of Caleb, was another name for Miriam.

Snow-white Miriam[link]

Miriam and Aaron confronting Moses.

At Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses because:

of the Cushite (Ethiopian) woman whom he had married: for he had married a Cushite woman

Miriam and Aaron question Moses’ exclusive religious authority, since they consider themselves to also have been prophets.

'They said, 'Was it only to Moses that God spoke? Did he not speak to us as well?

God hears and calls all three to the door of the tabernacle. When they arrive, God states to them that Moses has a much greater authority than Miriam and Aaron; indeed, He chooses to speak to Moses face to face, rather than merely through dreams.

In anger, God subsequently visits a punishment on Miriam, giving her tzaraat turning her “white as snow.” According to the rules concerning tzaraat, Miriam must then live outside of the camp, in isolation, only being allowed back when Moses intercedes with God on her behalf. Nevertheless, God insists that she still be punished for seven days. (Numbers 12:10-14). Tzaraat was an illness traditionally translated to be leprosy, while it really is something more like skin cancer or vitiligo.

Rabbinic Interpretation[link]

According to the Hebrew Bible anyone with tzaraat was tamei (Leviticus 13-14) The Rabbis of the Talmud noted that Aaron did not receive the same punishment as his sister, otherwise he would no longer have been able to perform his duties as high priest.

Form criticism[link]

Zipporah is identified as the wife of Moses, so the traditional Jewish and Christian view is that Zipporah is the woman that Miriam opposes. However, Zipporah is described as being a Cushite from Midian. According to Richard E. Friedman, because Cush refers to Ethiopia (Note: “Ethiopia” in ancient resources refers to the region of Nubia in modern Sudan.) or other lands well outside, the “Cushite woman” of the story is not Zipporah. Friedman, building on interpretations from the documentary hypothesis, notes that Zipporah is only mentioned in the Jahwist text, while the story of Snow-white Miriam is assigned to the Elohist, and so, in each, Moses only ever has one wife.^[2]

According to Friedman's interpretation, these two accounts reflected the stories of two different, rival priesthoods, the Aaronid priesthood in the Kingdom of Judah, which claimed descent from Aaron and which controlled the Temple in Jerusalem, and a priesthood based at Shiloh, in the Kingdom of Israel. Friedman asserts that various Biblical tales were created or publicized by these factions in order to add an aura of legitimacy to their various claims to privilege and power. According to Friedman, the Elohist was from, or supported, the Shiloh priesthood, and thus had a strong motivation to repeat or create this tale.^[2]

Death[link]

According to Numbers 20:1-2, when the Israelites on their journey to the Land of Canaan came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh, Miriam died and was buried there. True to her symbolism with water, after her death, God opened a spring of abundant water for the people, called Meribah. Unfortunately, this happened after the Israelites contended with God, also resulted in Moses and Aaron committing sin that prevented them to enter Canaan.(Numbers 20:7-13)

Miriam in Jewish culture[link]

The poetic couplet in Exodus 15 is considered by many to be one of the oldest parts of the Biblical account. Rashi’s commentary on this verse, based on the Mekhilta (Be-Shalah, ch. 10), states “Moses chanted a song for the men; he would chant for them and they would answer him. And Miriam chanted a song for the women.” In other words, the Song on the Sea was recited twice, for the men and the women in parallel. Moses chanted the song in its entirety for the men, who answered him in refrain, and Miriam repeated this procedure for the women.

Miriam is a popular figure among some Jewish feminists. Some place a “Cup of Miriam,” filled with water, beside the customary “Cup of Elijah” (filled with wine) during the Passover Seder. The cup contains water in memory of Miriam's well, which according to a Midrash (see Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 3, 50-54) accompanied the Israelites on their journey through the desert. Some Modern Orthodox^[who?] Jews have revived a millennium-old custom of adding a piece of fish to the seder plate, with the lamb, egg and fish jointly symbolizing the three prophets referred to in Micah 6:4, and also alluding to the mythical beasts (the bird Ziz, the animal Behemoth, and the sea-creature Leviathan) which, according to Midrash, are to be served at the Seudat Chiyat HaMatim, the feast for the righteous following the resurrection of the dead, which the Passover Seder (and the Cup of Elijah) allude to. The fish represents Leviathan as well as Miriam and is also a water symbol.^[3]

Quranic account[link]

Miriam is mentioned but not named in the Qur'an, and as in the Hebrew Bible, she obeys her mother's request to follow the baby Moses as he floats down the river in a basket, their mother having set him afloat so he would not be killed by the Pharaoh's servants and soldiers (28:11). Later on, Asiya, wife of the Pharaoh, finds Moses at the river and adopts him as her own, but Moses refuses to be suckled by her. Miriam asks the Pharaoh's wife and her handmaidens to have his own mother act as nursemaid to Moses, the mother's identity not being known to the Pharaoh's wife (28:12–13).

References[link]

1. ^ Antiquities, Book 3, ch. 1
2. ^ ^{a b} Richard E. Friedman (May 1997). Who Wrote the Bible?. San Francisco: Harper. pp. 78, 92. ISBN 0-06-063035-3. 
3. ^ Where is Miriam on the Seder plate? Yael Levine, Edah, YNet News.com, 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2007-05-13.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert at Ravinia, 2006
Background information
Origin	Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Genres	Isicathamiya, mbube
Years active	1960–1964 (original group) 1964–present (current incarnation)
Labels	Gallo Record Company (1973–present) Warner Bros. Records (1986–1995) Shanachie Records (1986–2000) Wrasse Records (1998–2004) Heads Up International (2004–2010) Listen2 Entertainment Group (2010–present)
Website	www.mambazo.com
Members
Joseph Shabalala (founder, lead singer, and musical director) Thamsanqa Shabalala Sibongiseni Shabalala Thulani Shabalala Msizi Shabalala Albert Mazibuko Abednego Mazibuko Russel Mthembu Ngane Dlamini
Past members
Jockey Shabalala Jabulani Dubazana Inos Phungula Ben Shabalala Geophrey Mdletshe Headman Shabalala Milton Mazibuko Funokwakhe Mazibuko Joseph Mazibuko Walter Malinga Matovoti Msimanga

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards. They were formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960 and later became one of South Africa's most prolific recording artists, with their releases receiving gold and platinum disc honors.^[1] The group has now become a mobile academy, teaching people about South Africa and its culture.

History[link]

Joseph Shabalala formed Ladysmith Black Mambazo because of a series of dreams he had in 1964, in which he heard certain isicathamiya harmonies (isicathamiya being the traditional music of the Zulu people). Following their local success at wedding ceremonies and other gatherings, Shabalala entered them into isicathamiya competitions. The group was described as 'so good' that they were eventually forbidden to enter the competitions, but welcomed to entertain at them.^[2] Although they had been recognised as an isicathamiya group in 1964, they had been singing together since the early 1950s. They released their first album, Amabutho, in 1973. The album, along with many other releases by the group, received gold disc certification.^[3] Ladysmith Black Mambazo's collaboration with Paul Simon in 1986 paved the way for international releases.

1960–1986[link]

The first incarnation of Ladysmith Black Mambazo was "Ezimnyama" ("The Black Ones"), formed by Shabalala in December 1960. The members of the group were relatives (mostly brothers and cousins) of Shabalala, with many having sung with him while he was growing up on the farm where he was born. Although the group did sing well together and captured the sound of cothoza mfana (tip toe boys, a 1960s slang term for isicathamiya) and mbube groups of the time, they were unknown outside of the Ladysmith district.^[4]

In 1964, Shabalala had a series of recurring dreams during his sleep, over a period of six months, featuring a choir singing in perfect harmony.^[5] Shabalala described this as a beautiful sound, and one not yet achieved by his group of the time. As a result, he reformed the group, bringing on board newer (younger) relatives but keeping the group name. He strived to teach them the harmonies from his dreams, creating what was to become a signature tune for the group: "Nomathemba" (a girl's name - meaning "hope"). After deciding that this group well replicated the beautiful, soft sounds from his dreams, Shabalala entered the group into isicathamiya competitions, held on Saturday nights in the halls of hostels in Durban and Johannesburg. The group managed to win nearly every competition that was held. As a result, Shabalala decided to change the name of the group to be more descriptive of its talent. The name "Ezimnyama" was replaced by "Ladysmith Black Mambazo".

The three elements of the new name were: the hometown of Shabalala's family, Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal; the black ox, considered to be the strongest farm animal; and mambazo, which means axe in the Zulu language, and is symbolic of the choir's ability to "chop down" the competition.

Eventually, by the early 1970s, the group was forbidden to compete in the competitions because of their continual success. They were, however, welcome to perform without taking part in the competition itself.^[6]

In 1967, the group began to make recordings for the SABC station Radio Zulu, appearing in DJ Alexius Buthelezi's popular Cothoza Mfana programme which spotlighted the music of several local choirs.^[7] Their success was so great that music producers began enticing the group to sign a recording contract. In 1972 the group signed with Gallo Record Company under producer West Nkosi at the organisation's African music division, Mavuthela Music Company (Nkosi was also well known in South Africa as a saxophone jive star). Ladysmith Black Mambazo released their first album the following year, Amabutho, which received gold status and was the first album by a black musician or group in South Africa to do so. Their subsequent albums also received gold or platinum certification.^[8] With the release of their second album, they had become professional singers.^[7]

In 1976, Shabalala converted to Christianity and a host of religious material now entered the group's repertoire. Mambazo's first religious album, Ukukhanya Kwelanga, was released soon afterwards. It earned a double platinum disc award, and the group's repertoire came to be dominated by hymns, mostly Methodist. Their 1977 LP Ukusindiswa became one of their most popular religious albums, selling double gold discs within three weeks of release.^[8] By 1981, the group's popularity was such that the apartheid government allowed the members to travel to Cologne, Germany as part of a South African folk music festival.^[9] The group toured West Germany and appeared on television, and learned some of the German language; for the group's 1981 album Phansi Emgodini, Shabalala composed a song titled "Wir Grüssen Euch Alle" ("We greet you all"). The following year, the group traveled back to Germany to appear on a televised quiz programme, bringing about requests for more live appearances.^[9] A track by the group also appeared on the groundbreaking British compilation album The Indestructible Beat of Soweto.

1986–1993[link]

In 1985, Paul Simon traveled to South Africa in the hope of collaborating with African musicians for his Graceland album. Simon contacted Shabalala and conversed with him in person - after much discussion and excitement, the group traveled to London to record with Simon. The first recording was "Homeless" - the music and chorus were composed by Simon, with Shabalala composing the Zulu introduction and main (non-English) body of the song. Graceland was released in late 1986, and although both Joseph Shabalala and Paul Simon were accused of breaking the cultural boycott of South Africa,^[10] the album became a huge success and sold 16 million copies^[11] and further boosted Ladysmith Black Mambazo's international image. This also paved the way for other African acts such as Stimela and Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens to gain popularity amongst Western audiences.^[12]

After Graceland, Simon acted asproducer their first album for US Release on Warner BRothers Records Shaka Zulu (1987). Two more records were recorded for Warner Brothers Records in the US Journey of Dreams (1988) and Two Worlds, One Heart (1990). On the latter album, the group recorded with The Winans, Julia Fordham and George Clinton among other then-popular artists. Shaka Zulu was nominated (and won) in the category of Best Traditional Folk Recording in the Grammy Awards 1988.

In 1988, Ladysmith Black Mambazo appeared in Michael Jackson's movie Moonwalker, where they performed "The Moon Is Walking" (an abridged version of the song "Lindelani", which appears on Journey of Dreams) over the end credits. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was also featured in the Sesame Street song "Put Down The Duckie".

In 1988, Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang an arrangement of "Mbube" during the opening sequence of the movie Coming to America, but the song was not released on the soundtrack.

Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo also arranged and sang on two numbers, "We Carry On" and "Going Home," on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus, released in 1992. The group played the role of Spartacus' army of former slaves.

On 10 December 1991, Shabalala's brother and one of the bass members in the group, Headman Shabalala, was shot and killed by Sean Nicholas, a white off-duty security guard. Paul Simon, who believed the killing to be racially motivated, led the court proceedings against Nicholas.^[13] Joseph Shabalala stopped singing. Eventually, aided by his Christian beliefs, he returned to singing. Following the retirement of three more members in 1993, Shabalala recruited four of his sons into the group.^[14]

1993–2002[link]

The Apartheid system was abolished in 1994. The release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years imprisonment brought a celebratory album release - 1993's Liph' Iqiniso. The album's last track, "Isikifil' Inkululeko" ("Freedom Has Arrived"), was a celebration of the end of Apartheid.^[15]

According to Shabalala, Nelson Mandela (shortly after his release from prison) publicly stated that the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo were "South Africa's cultural ambassadors".^[16] Ladysmith Black Mambazo accompanied the future President of South Africa to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway at the request of Nelson Mandela, in 1993. Mambazo sang again at President Mandela's inauguration in May 1994, and then later at his birthday celebrations.^[17]

In 1997, for a series of television advertisements entitled "Toast for Life" for Heinz soups, baked beans, salad cream, and tomato ketchup, the group recorded an abridged version of "Inkanyezi Nezazi" ("The Star and the Wiseman"). The adverts proved so popular that the original studio version (recorded back in 1992) was released as a single, with the cover art imitating the label on a tin of Heinz Baked Beans; the single reached #2 in the UK Pop Charts. The single was followed up by The Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo - The Star and the Wiseman in 1998, a compilation release which became so popular that it was certified triple platinum, selling 1 million copies in Britain alone.^[18] The Heinz campaign led to a reawakening of the group in Britain, and many television and radio performances beckoned over the next few years, as well as performing for the British royal family. In 2001, the group was referenced in the Family Guy episode Lethal Weapons.

2002–2006[link]

	"Selingelethu Sonke" (2003) noicon This was the first time the group had written a song specifically about fair trade in Africa. They had originally spoken of it in Oxfam's campaign, Make Trade Fair.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

As a follow-up to the traditional release Lihl' Ixhiba Likagogo in 2000, the group began preparations for Wenyukela, another album of new material, in 2002. However, the making of the record underwent severe strain when, in May 2002, Shabalala's wife of thirty years (and lead singer in the allied group "Women of Mambazo"), Nellie, was murdered in a church car park by a masked gunman. Shabalala's hand was injured trying to protect his wife.^[19] Joseph's son Vivian Nkosinathi was accused of hiring a hitman to murder his stepmother Nellie. During the court trial, Nkosinathi supposedly testified that the South African police offered some kind of reprieve if he would implicate his own father, Joseph, in the murder.^[20]

Wenyukela, however, went ahead, as Shabalala began to recover. Songs such as "Wenza Ngani?" ("How Did You Do That?") had a moral theme, such as racism. Others included "Fak' Ibhande" ("Don't Drink and Drive"), which warned of the dangers of alcohol and driving; "Wenyukela", which spoke of the resurrection of Jesus and how South Africans were nearly misled into killing each other during the 1994 elections;^[21] and "Selingelethu Sonke", a song asking for fair trade in Africa. The group had originally spoken of the issue of fair trade in the Oxfam campaign Make Trade Fair. They appeared as guests in "The Big Noise", a worldwide petition for fair trade.^[22]

The success of Wenyukela in South Africa prompted its release in Britain in March 2003 on Wrasse Records. Following the repeated success of the album, the American-based Heads Up International released the album in January 2004. In addition to the standard version, Heads Up released the album in the Hybrid SACD format. The US release reportedly went platinum^[23] and it garnered the group their second Grammy Award. They also embarked on a three month tour of the United States.

The group signed to Heads Up (in America; they remained with Gallo in South Africa) with their 2005 release, No Boundaries, a collaboration with the English Chamber Orchestra which featured many classical standards (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Ave Verum Corpus) and Mambazo tunes (Homeless, Awu, Wemadoda, Ngingenwe Emoyeni). Despite initial worry about merging European traditions and Zulu folklore, the album sold very well^[24] and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

2006–2008[link]

Ladysmith Black Mambazo performing in 2006

Long Walk to Freedom, a celebration of 45 years of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, was released by the group on 24 January 2006. On the album (which also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Graceland), the group recorded with a multitude of artists including Zap Mama, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Joe McBride, Natalie Merchant, Emmylou Harris, and Taj Mahal as well as South African musicians Lucky Dube, Phuzekhemisi, Bhekumuzi Luthuli, Nokukhanya, Thandiswa, Vusi Mahlasela and Hugh Masekela. Ladysmith Black Mambazo also expressed wishes to work with Paul Simon once more, twenty years on since Graceland.^[25]

To support the promotion of the album and tour, Mambazo appeared on various television and radio programmes throughout January and February 2006. The group also started a street team; this is currently exclusive to fans in the US and Canada.^[26]