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Miriam Makeba

South African diva Miriam Makeba is well known throughout the world as Mama Africa and the Empress of African Song. She is African music's first and foremost world star. She is a pioneer who played her early songs and blended different styles long before anyone even began to talk about "world music." Her record production is spread across many companies all over the world - so far and wide that it's difficult to get a panoramic view of it. But no collection of African music should be without one or more of Miriam Makeba's recordings.

Miriam was born in Johannesburg. As a young girl of thirteen, she entered a talent show at a missionary school and walked off with the first prize. She was often invited to sing at weddings, and her popularity grew in leaps and bounds as more and more people became dazzled by her talent. In 1952 she was chosen to sing for The Manhattan Brothers and toured South Africa with them. As early as 1956, she wrote and released the song "Pata Pata."

She received invitations to visit Europe and America, where she came to the attention of Harry Belafonte and Steve Allen and was capitulated to stardom. 1959 saw her becoming the first South African to win a Grammy award for the album “An Evening with Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba.”

Miriam became an exile in 1960 when South Africa banned her from returning to her birth country - she was deemed to be too dangerous and revolutionary - this was after she had appeared in an anti-apartheid documentary, entitled "Come Back Africa", and this upset the then white apartheid government of South Africa. Miriam only returned to South Africa thirty years later.

In 1967, more than ten years after she wrote the song, "Pata Pata" was released in the United States and became a hit worldwide. It has since been re-recorded by numerous international artists. Miriam was a darling of the American public, but they turned against her when she married the radical black activist, Stokely Carmichael, in 1968. Once again, she was at the receiving end of a dissatisfied and disgruntled country. Although the United States never banned her, her US concerts and recording contracts were suddenly cancelled.

She moved back to Africa, this time to Guinea where she was welcomed with open arms. Miriam continued to record songs and toured intensively. She was well respected by the government of Guinea and was asked to address the United Nations General Assembly as a Guinean delegate. She twice addressed the General Assembly, speaking out against the evils of apartheid.

Although always regarding herself as a singer and not as a politician, Miriam's fearless humanitarianism has earned her many International awards, including the 1986 Dag Hammerskjold Peace Prize and the UNESCO Grand Prix du Conseil International de la Musique. Makeba is also known for having inspired an enduring fashion in the 60's when the slogan "black is beautiful" was launched which popularized the Afro hairstyle of the period.

She has toured with singers such as Paul Simon, Nina Simone, Hugh Masekela and Dizzy Gillepsie. The ban on her records was lifted in South Africa in 1988 and she returned to her homeland in December 1990. Four years later she started a charity project to raise funds to protect women in South Africa. Her first concert in South Africa (1991) was a huge success and this was a prelude for a world-wide tour which included the USA and Europe.

She has released over fifty albums over the years, and her powerful and distinctive voice retains the clarity and range that enable it to be both forceful as a protest march and as poignant as an African lullaby.

She keeps on singing, with her granddaughter Zenzi Lee in her background choir and a great-grandson in her entourage. She released a critically acclaimed comeback album, "Homeland," released in 2000, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2001. She appeared in the movie of 2002 by Lee Hirsch, the opulent and exciting documentary "Amandla!" about the powerful part of music in the struggle against Apartheid. In 2004, at the South African Music Awards 10, her album “Reflections,” won two awards: Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Adult Contemporary Album. She is on an international tour in 2007 with her eight member band, and performed for a free concert in May in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Miriam is MamaAfrica, a lady with a special touch. She has weathered many storms in her life, including several car accidents, a plane crash and even cancer. She remains as active in her latter years as she did as a young girl with stars in her eyes.

Her exceptional personal and artistic profile is part of the history of this century, all adding to the dramatic elements of an extraordinary life, making Miriam Makeba a living legend.
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Miriam Makeba: Pata Pata

by John Eyles
September 30, 2019

Originally released on Reprise in 1967, Pata Pata was Miriam Makeba's first album for the label, after a period recording for RCA. She had written the title song in 1956, when she still lived in South Africa, and recorded it with the Skylarks, the vocal harmony girl group of which she was a member. The Reprise version, as heard on this album, was released as a single and was a runaway hit, peaking at 12 on the Billboard Hot 100; ...

Radio & Podcasts

King Kong to Sharpeville

by Seton Hawkins
September 16, 2018

Part two of an eight-part series exploring the past and present of South Africa's Jazz scene. This episode looks at the late 1950s in South Africa's Jazz, leading up to the early 1960s and the fallout of the Sharpeville Massacre. Playlist Cast of King Kong “Sad Times, Bad Times" from King Kong: Original Cast (Gallo Music Publishers) 01:55 Miriam Makeba “Back of the Moon" from King Kong: Original Cast (Gallo Music Publishers) 05:54 Kippie Moeketsi and the ...

415

Album Review

Miriam Makeba: South Africa's Skylark

Read "South Africa's Skylark" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
June 7, 2010

As was the case with her mentor, partner and fellow social radical, singer Harry Belafonte, South African-born singer Miriam Makeba's breakthrough international hits were sunny, folk-based pop singles devoid of the explicit political content which would later inform much of her work. Belafonte scored with the calypsos “Banana Boat Song" and “Island In The Sun" in 1956-57. Makeba with “The Click Song" and “Pata Pata" shortly after arriving in the US in 1959. The discs made Belafonte and Makeba hugely ...

348

Album Review

Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks: Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks Vol. 1/Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks Vol. 2

by Ed Kopp
April 12, 2002

If you like jazz vocalese, doo-wop, old-time soul, gospel, South African township music, or any combination of the aforementioned, you will probably love these two CDs by Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks. Together these separate releases provide a comprehensive overview of the group's recorded legacy. Makeba and the Skylarks were one of the most successful South African vocal groups to blend American influences (Mills Brothers-style pop, gospel, and jazz) with South African tribal rhythms and vocal styles ...

183

Album Review

Miriam Makeba: The Definitive Collection

Read "The Definitive Collection" reviewed by John Eyles

by John Eyles
April 12, 2002

For as long as I can remember, Miriam Makeba has been the female voice of South Africa, as well as an international ambassador for the causes of liberation and justice. This compilation is worthy of its subject; having been put together with the help of Makeba herself, it gives a good picture of her entire career and includes her most popular songs. Makeba made her recording debut with The Manhattan Brothers in 1953, on the track “Laku Tshone ...

Recording

Soweto-Born Vocalist Lorraine Klaasen Pays Homage to "Mama Africa" on New Justin Time Records Album, a Tribute to Miriam Makeba, Available March 12

Source: DL Media
March 9, 2013

As a follow-up to the triumphant Africa Calling, her previous release on Justin Time Records, singer Lorraine Klaasen pays homage to a South African cultural icon and close family friend on A Tribute to Miriam Makeba. “I used to call her auntie Miriam because she and my mother were such close friends and she knew me since I was a little girl,” says Klaasen. “I just wish I could have done this while she was still alive.” Released in her ...
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290

Event

Mama Africa:celebrating Miriam Makeba

Source: All About Jazz
October 12, 2009

Saturday 21 November 7.30pm Mama Africa: Celebrating Miriam Makeba Curated and presented by Angelique Kidjo Featuring special guests Baaba Maal, Asa, Vusi Mahlasela, Sayon Bamba, Dobet Gnahore & South African chorus

Produced by the Barbican; part of London Jazz Festival in association with BBC Radio 3, Commissioned by Festival d'Ile de France

I just told the world the truth, and if the truth then becomes political, I can't do anything about that Miriam Makeba, ...
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159

Obituary

Miriam Makeba Cremated After Moving Memorial in South Africa

Source: All About Jazz
November 17, 2008

The body of acclaimed South African singer Miriam Makeba was cremated at a private ceremony in her home country on Sunday, radio reports said. Makeba, Africa's first Grammy award-winning singer and a leading anti-apartheid activist, died of a heart attack November 10 in Italy after performing at a concert. She was 76. The cremation follows a moving memorial service attended by some 1, 500 people in northern Johannesburg, including prominent people in politics, culture and business. Makeba's ex-husband, South African ...
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131

Obituary

Miriam Makeba Taking Africa with Her to the World

Source: Michael Ricci
November 13, 2008

To be the voice of a nation speaking to the wider world is a tough mission for any performer. To be the voice of an entire continent is exponentially more difficult. Both were mantles that the South African singer Miriam Makeba took on willingly and forcefully.

Despite her lifelong claim that she was not a political singer, she became Mama Africa with an activists tenacity and a musicians ear. She died Sunday, at 76, after a concert in Italy.

Treating ...
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184

Obituary

Miriam Makeba South African Singer Dies in Italy

Source: Michael Ricci
November 10, 2008

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa Miriam Makeba, the South African singer who wooed the world with her sultry voice but was banned from her own country for 30 years under apartheid, died early Monday after a concert in Italy. She was 76. The Pineta Grande Clinic, a private clinic near the southern city of Naples, said the singer died after being brought there. The ANSA news agency reported that Makeba apparently suffered a heart attack after performing for 30 minutes ...
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142

Festival

Miriam Makeba Arrives for Ugandan Jazz Festival

Source: All About Jazz
October 10, 2008

316

Festival

Uganda: International Jazz Festival On

Source: All About Jazz
September 26, 2008

THE story of jazz music in Uganda has so far been one clouded in confusion. Book a jazz artist, over-hype the artist and concert with massive advertising and a high entry fee with emphasis on VIP treatment, and you will have the cream of Kampala's socialites eating out of your hands. Next month's Amani Africa, the first annual jazz festival will provide a guide to for the appreciation of jazz music. The festival has attracted big names like South Africa's ...
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