Miriam Makeba

Biography

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), widely known as “Mama Africa,” was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist who became one of the first Black African musicians to achieve global stardom.[2][3] Born in Prospect Township near Johannesburg to a Swazi mother and Xhosa father, she grew up in the vibrant yet segregated community of Sophiatown, singing in school and church choirs from an early age.[2][3][6] After her father’s death and her mother’s imprisonment for brewing beer, she was forced to work as a domestic and laundress as a child, yet continued to develop her vocal talent.[2][5][6] By the early 1950s she was performing professionally with local groups such as the Cuban Brothers and, from 1954, with the Manhattan Brothers, touring southern Africa and recording early hits like “Lakutshon’ Ilanga.”[2][3][6] She later joined the all‑woman group the Skylarks, blending jazz with traditional South African melodies, and gained further attention through appearances in the film Come Back, Africa (1959) and the musical King Kong.[2][3][6]

Makeba left South Africa in 1959 after Come Back, Africa drew international notice and support from artists such as Harry Belafonte, settling in the United States where she embarked on a major recording and concert career.[2][3] In exile after South Africa revoked her passport and later banned her records due to her outspoken criticism of apartheid, she introduced global audiences to Xhosa and Zulu songs and styles, helping to popularize Afropop, African jazz, and what later came to be known as world music.[2][3][5] Her recordings of “The Click Song (Qongqothwane)” and “Pata Pata” became international hits, while her 1965 album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording for its powerful portrayal of life under apartheid.[3] Throughout the 1960s–80s she used her platform at concerts and the United Nations to denounce racial oppression, even losing U.S. residency after her marriage to Black Power activist Stokely Carmichael.[2][3][5] After three decades in exile, she returned to South Africa in 1990–91 following Nelson Mandela’s release, resumed performing and recording albums such as Eyes on Tomorrow (1991) and Homeland (2000), and continued activism as a UN Goodwill Ambassador until her death in Italy in 2008, when Mandela praised her for inspiring “a powerful sense of hope in all of us.”[1][2][3]

Musically, Makeba’s style fused African folk melodies, jazz harmony, Latin and pop rhythms, and distinctive Xhosa vocal techniques, including the famous “clicks” of her mother tongue.[2][3][5][6] She often performed in multiple African languages as well as English, presenting songs that were at once deeply rooted in South African traditions and accessible to international audiences.[2][3] Her onstage presence and fashion—natural hairstyles and African dress—made her an icon of African pride and modern Black identity in the 1960s and beyond.[2] Makeba’s legacy extends far beyond her hit songs: she is remembered as a cultural ambassador who helped define Afropop and world music, a symbol of resistance to apartheid, and an inspiration to generations of African and diasporic musicians who followed in her footsteps.[2][3][5][8]

Fun Facts

• Makeba’s mother was imprisoned for six months for brewing beer when Miriam was just a few weeks old, and the baby Makeba had to stay in prison with her—a formative early experience she later recounted.[5][6]
• She famously popularized “The Click Song” (Xhosa title “Qongqothwane”), introducing global audiences to the use of click consonants in Xhosa singing.[2][3]
• In 1963 she addressed the United Nations, condemning apartheid; shortly afterward the South African government revoked her citizenship and banned her records.[2][3]
• Makeba died in Castel Volturno, Italy, in 2008 after suffering a heart attack immediately following a concert at an anti‑mafia and anti‑racism event, having literally sung on stage until her final moments.[2][3][4]

Associated Acts

• The Manhattan Brothers

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Harry Belafonte - Champion and de facto mentor who helped bring her to the United States, guided her early U.S. career, and collaborated closely on politically charged repertoire about apartheid. (Album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965), joint concerts and television appearances in the 1960s.) [c. 1959–late 1960s[3][5]]

Key Collaborators

• Harry Belafonte - Key creative partner in blending South African songs with American folk and popular styles, spotlighting apartheid conditions. (Co‑recorded An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (Grammy Award, 1965) and shared extensive touring.[3]) [1960s[3][5]]
• Hugh Masekela - Trumpeter and fellow South African exile; they were married briefly and continued to work together musically after their divorce. (Stage work in King Kong (1959) and later concert collaborations; shared role in promoting South African jazz internationally.[3][6]) [Late 1950s–1960s and intermittent thereafter[3][6]]
• The Manhattan Brothers - South African vocal group with whom she first achieved national fame as the only female member, touring and recording early hits. (Recorded “Lakutshon’ Ilanga” (1953) and toured South Africa, Rhodesia, and the Congo.[2][6]) [1954–1957[2][6]]
• The Skylarks - All‑woman vocal group that blended jazz and traditional South African melodies, helping refine her signature style. (Numerous South African recordings in the late 1950s combining African jazz and folk influences.[2][6]) [Mid‑ to late 1950s[2][6]]
• Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz trumpeter who joined her in cross‑genre collaborations on a later album, mixing jazz, R&B, pop, and African music. (Album Eyes on Tomorrow (1991), followed by world touring.[2]) [Early 1990s[2]]
• Nina Simone - Fellow politically engaged singer and pianist who collaborated with her on recordings that bridged jazz, soul, and African styles. (Album Eyes on Tomorrow (1991), joint promotion and performances.[2]) [Early 1990s[2]]

Artists Influenced

• Angelique Kidjo - Beninese singer who has repeatedly cited Makeba as a guiding influence in combining African roots with global pop and using music for activism. (Kidjo’s album Oyo includes tributes to African foremothers; she has performed Makeba songs such as “Pata Pata” in concert (noted in interviews and profiles).) [1990s–present (influence acknowledged retrospectively)[inferred from broad critical consensus built on Makeba’s documented role as a pioneer in Afropop and world music[2][3]]]
• Youssou N’Dour - Senegalese star whose international breakthrough in world music followed the path Makeba helped open for African artists on Western stages. (Global releases like Nelson Mandela and later albums build on the world music market that Makeba helped to establish.[2][3]) [1980s–present (influence by precedent rather than direct apprenticeship)[inferred from her status as one of the first African musicians with worldwide recognition[2][3]]]
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo and later South African groups - Vocal ensembles that benefited from the global appetite for South African music that Makeba helped to create and from her model of linking music with anti‑apartheid messaging. (Their international work in the 1980s–90s (e.g., collaborations on Paul Simon’s Graceland) occurred in a landscape shaped by Makeba’s earlier success.[2][3]) [1980s–1990s (influence by example and international visibility)[inferred from her pioneering global role for South African music[2][3]]]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Pata Pata - Stereo Version (Pata Pata)
2. Pata Pata - Mono Version (Pata Pata)
3. The Click Song (The Click Song)
4. For What It's Worth - Remastered (Keep Me In Mind)
5. Quit It (A Promise)
6. My Angel (Malaika)
7. Hi-a Ma (Pata Pata) - Milk & Sugar Video Version
8. Pata Pata (Reflections)
9. Malaika (Myriam Makeba Live In Paris, France (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées))
10. Ha Po Zamani - Stereo Version (Pata Pata)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #2008-universal-fire-victim, #marabi, #songwriter