South African Popular Music Masterpieces II
by Sheldon Rocha Leal
Two years ago I endeavoured to list and research some of South Africa’s most ground breaking and influential recordings. Songs that have/had an enduring impact on the South African music industry and that pushed the standards of music making and creation in the country forward. It was a difficult task to source and research the 15 songs selected for that article as we in South Africa seem to have a problem with archiving and making our historical knowledge publicly available. But in the end I was able to string an article together, which was well received by the Medium community.
Two years later I have decided to revisit this earlier article, researching and listing 10 new songs, which I feel have made an indelible mark on the South African music soundscape. The intention is to turn “South African Popular Masterpieces” into a series, which I will add to in future articles, celebrating great indigenous creations, creatives and the creative process. We, as South African creatives, can stand with our heads held high knowing that we have created works that have been as influential as anything created globally. South African creators are just as talented as any other creatives from foreign territories and the product of our imagination has been just as influential. The present article will feature some iconic artists, one-hit-wonders and folk heroes, but all the songs, featured, have been significant in their own right, in there own era and ultimately influencing the young music makers of years to come. So here were go…
1. John Ireland: I Like (1982)
Dr John Griffith aka John Ireland was born on the 24th of August 1954. He went to school at Boksburg High School and went on to study medicine at WITS. Whilst at university he formed a band called Slither (later The Radio Rats) with one of his med-school friends, Jonathan Handley. Between 1978–1986 he released 5 solo albums and then disappeared, becoming a recluse, who seldomly grants interviews. “I Like” was released in 1982 and was featured on his eponymously titled 3rd album. It would eventually peak at No2 on the Springbok Radio Chart and spent 15 weeks in the Top20, No4 on the Radio 5 Chart, No5 on the 702 Chart and No7 on the Capital 604 Charts. The song has gone on to become a cult classic and an exceptional example of 1980s SA Pop. The song is written, produced and performed by the medical doctor, who at one stage was a South African star.
2. Lucky Dube: Different Colours, One People (1993)
Lucky Dube was born 3 August 1964 in Ermelo in Mpumalanga and passed away aged 43 on 18 October 2007. Not only was he a South African icon, he was also an international reggae superstar who probably rivalled Bob Marley as one of the genre’s greatest ambassadors. He eventually signed a recording deal with Motown in 1995 and won the 1996 World Music Award for Best Selling African Artist. Lucky is considered to have given African Reggae a voice and in Northern Australia he is considered more popular than the Beatles amongst the aboriginal population. “Different Colours, One People” is from his highly acclaimed 16th studio album, “Victims”, which shipped over 1million units internationally. The song speaks about unity in diversity and contains a sample of the “Super Mario Brothers” theme.
3. Solomon Linda: Mbube (1939)
Solomon Linda was born in KwaZulu-Natal 1909 and passed away in Johannesburg, 8 September 1962. In 1931, when he moved to Johannesburg, he worked at the Carlton Hotel and formed an acapella group called The Evening Birds. By 1939 he was working at Gallo Records (at the time the only recording label in sub-Saharan Africa, started by Italian immigrant Eric Gallo), as a record packer. His band was spotted by the company’s talent scout Griffith Motsieloa and signed to a recording deal. Whilst in studio they delivered “Mbube” which was eventually released and became a major big hit (shipping over 100,000 units by 1949). The song was eventually sold by Solomon Linda to Gallo for less than $2. By the 1950s it was discovered by Alan Lomax, in the USA, who gave it to his friend Pete Seeger who transcribed it as “Wimoweh”, a misinterpretation of the original lyrics. It was later given English lyrics in 1961 and performed by The Tokens as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. In 1994 the song was used in the animated “Lion King” movie and today is one of the most iconic songs in the South African musical canon.
4. Wendy Oldfield: Acid Rain (1991)
The singer-songwriter was born on the 24th of February 1964 in Cape Town and by the time she was 19 had formed her first band Sweatband. By the time she released her debut solo album in 1992, “Beautiful World”, she was a veteran South African music star. In the 1990s people were very concerned about the hole in the ozone layer, the state of the ecology and global warming. “Acid Rain” echoes this concern and was featured on Wendy Oldfield’s solo debut album. The song was written by Wendy and produced by Marvin Moses. A ballad mix of the song, featured on the single was produced by legendary South African producer Cedric Sampson. It charted twice in South Africa, once in its original format and once as an acid remix and was also featured on her 4th solo studio album “On A Pale Blue Dot” (1999), for which she won FNB Pop Album of the Year award. The song was also distributed in France and Germany and has become a cult favorite.
5. MarcAlex: Quick, Quick (1988)
MarcAlex were a duo that were popular on the South African music scene in the late 1980s, early 1990s. The band consisted of twin brothers Marc and Alex Rantseli, born on the 21st of March 1967, in Soweto, Johannesburg. In the mid-1980s they were signed to Tusk Records by iconic South African A&R man, Mr Benjy Mudie, who has discovered many successful artists over the years. Benjy Mudie is essentially the Clive Davis or Berry Gordy of South Africa. “Quick Quick” was the first track on the brother’s eponymously titled debut studio album, released in 1988 and was produced by Rick Wolff and written by Marc Rantseli. The song peaked at No1 in South Africa, making the twins national heroes, at a time when black artists didn’t feature on mainstream radio. The success of the single and album resulted in the album being released in the USA and Germany by Atlantic Records in 1990.
6. Vicky Sampson: Afrikan Dream (1994)
The songstress was born in 1969 in Cape Town to Faye and Victor Sampson. Her father was a jazz musician, who in later years was placed in a psychiatric hospital. Vicky wasn’t very successful at school and by the time she was 16 had dropped out and was working as a runner for an optometrist. Her fortunes altered in 1983 when her aunt entered her into a television talent competition on SABC, “Follow That Star”. Although she only placed 2nd, the show’s producers were sufficiently impressed with her talent and cast her in a special titled “Soft Shoes”. This led to various opportunities including a guest appearance on a MarcAlex music video in 1991. In 1994 she released her sophomore album, “Zai”, which features the anthemic “Afrikan Dream”, written by composer, score writter and former member of Mango Groove, Alan Lazar. The album was released at a time when South Africans were welcoming the first democratically elected government in the country’s history. The song was later used as a theme for the 1996 African Cup of Nations, which Bafana Bafana (the South African national football team) went on to win. The album won 4 SAMA awards in 1996 and the song has since attained legendary status.
7. Boom Shaka: It’s About Time (1993)
This pioneering Kwaito band consisted of 4 members: Lebo Mathosa, Thembi Seete, Junior Sokhela and Theo Nhlengethwa. They were put together by legendary South African musician/producer Don Laka, who was trying to move the South African sound beyond the bubblegum genre popular in the 1980s. His contribution was a new hybrid of Hip-Hop/House/Reggae music known as Kwaito and Boom Shaka were his first band. Lebo Mathosa was 14 years old when she was discovered by the producer. “It’s About Time” was featured on the band’s eponymously titled debut album. The band’s focus was not politics, but rather music that would emancipate the audience from their past woes and focused on an aspirational lifestyle, liberated from any oppression. The mid-tempo song, became an unofficial national anthem for teenagers in the country and went on to hit great heights on the South African music charts. “It’s About Time” was written by DJs Christos, Oskido, Lebo, Junior and Don Laka and produced by Christos. I remember watching them opening for Janet Jackson in 1998, where they tore up the stage with that song and showed the world their Kwaito muscle.
8. Malaika: Destiny (2004)
Malaika were a post-Kwaito, Afro-Pop band, which featured Bongani Nchang, Jabulani Ndaba and Matshediso Mhlobo, who was formerly a teacher from Lichtenberg, and were popular between 2003–2008. “Destiny” was featured on the band’s self-titled debut album, which went 7 times platinum in South Africa, denoting shipments of over 350,000 units. The song was considered the biggest crossover hit of 2004 and was written by Bongani and Godfrey Pilane. “Destiny” has an up-tempo jovial air about it and its infectiousness guaranteed its longevity, international success and recognition. Over the next few years the band was handsomely rewarded for their efforts: a KORA award for Best Newcomer, 2004; 2 SAMA Awards, 2004; 3 Metro FM Awards and a Channel O Award. After Jabulani’s passing in 2008 and much infighting the band split up, but the song is still considered an iconic and landmark song in the South African music history.
9. Four Jacks & A Jill: Master Jack (1964)
The South African band was formed in 1964 and consisted of 5 members: Clive Harding, Keith Andrews, Bruce Bark, Tony Hughes and Glenys Lynne (the lead vocalist who named the band). In 1968 the band released their 5th studio album, through RCA records (incidentally the same recording label at Elvis Presley), titled “Master Jack”. The album peaked at No155 in the USA, but the lead single from the album made the band international stars. The Folk tinged, acoustic guitar heavy single is reminiscent of many mainstream songs of the era. The song was written by iconic South African songwriter David Marks and produced by Ray Walter. “Master Jack” peaked at No1 in South Africa, No18 in the USA and Australia and even peaked at No3 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. The song is about foremen in South African gold mines, who were colloquially known as Master Jack. David Marks started his career working underground in gold mines in the Free State, which is possibly where he got the inspiration for the song.
10. Mynie Grové: Pinocchio (1979)
Mynie was a big South African superstar in the 1980s, but started her musical training aged 3, when she used to play piano by ear. She grew up in the Western Cape and was composing songs before she could even read. After completing her studies in graphic design and music she was discovered by a German producer, Claude Larson, and her career was set. She later moved to Johannesburg and stared in various TV shows and movies. She is famous for performing children’s music and “Pinocchio” was featured as the theme song on an animated TV series titled “The Adventures Of Pinnochio”originally released in Japan in 1976. The show was later dubbed into various languages and the theme song from the German version of the show was used in South Africa. Mynie and Manie van Rensburg translated the song into Afrikaans, but the original songwriters were Florian Cusano and Karel Svoboda. The song was eventually released in 1979, was included as part of the hit children’s TV series and has been covered by many South African artists. The song is just a happy, feel good song and I have always loved it.
The songs selected for this article span 6 different decades, encapsulating the sound of there era and highlighting the stars from bygone time period. All 10 songs, at one time, captured the imagination of its generation and for many are songs that still transport the listener to a different time in their history. Some of the songs have altered the trajectory of worldwide music trends and others have only been regionally significant, yet all have had major cultural significance. It has been an exciting process researching the above songs, but what this research has validated, for me, is that trying to find information on South African music and music industry is very challenging.
Information is sporadic and not complete and resources are few and far between. Archives of this content and the stories behind these creations and creators should be readily available, but this is not the case. This is partially my motivation for having embarked on this mission to document some of the songs from the vast South African canon and the stars, songwriters and producers who contributed to there actualisation. I look forward to compiling a future article in this series, but for now I hope you enjoyed the ride.
