Last Tuesday was Miriam Makeba‘s birthday. She would have been 82 on March 4. So, for this installment of Monday Morning Music during Women’s History Month, let’s celebrate Mama Africa!
Miriam Makeba was a South African singer and activist. She campaigned against apartheid and was exiled from her country for thirty years because of that. She didn’t return to South Africa until apartheid was officially abolished in 1990.
Makeba began performing in the 1950s and recorded her first hit in 1956 with the song “Pata Pata.” Here she is singing the song in 1967.
And this is probably the first song of hers that I heard. “Qongqothwane (The Click Song)”, performed on Dutch television in 1979. Sorry for the blurriness, but I love her performance and her intro. Hope you do, too.
To finish up, a performance from the year she died (2008). Here she is in Zimbabwe, one of the many artists involved with Paul Simon’s Graceland concert. The song is “Soweto Blues,” written by her ex-husband Hugh Masekela.
Miriam Makeba was an amazing woman. Her strength and talent are missed. (Photo credit: jankie)
M. Fenn 