“When I was a young boy I dreamt of becoming an educated person; maybe a teacher, doctor or something like that.” – Joseph Shabalala.
The death has been announced of Joseph Shabalala, one of South Africa’s musical legends and founder of Grammy award-winning acapella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The 78-year old Shabalala, died in a hospital, according to the band’s manager, Xolani Majozi and his passing has been confirmed by the Government of South Africa in a tweet which read; “We would like to extend our condolences on the passing of Joseph Shabalala who was the founder of the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.”
Born in 1941 on a farm in Tugela, near the town of Ladysmith in South Africa, Shabalala was the eldest of eight children. Growing up, he had dreams. He told South Africa’s The Citizen in 2014; “When I was a young boy I dreamt of becoming an educated person; maybe a teacher, doctor or something like that.” However, when his father died, he was forced to leave school at the age of 12.
He worked in the family farm for a while and later in a local factory, while in his spare time, he would sing with friends in a local group called the Blacks. The group took shape in the 1960s at the height of the white minority apartheid rule, with Joseph Shabalala becoming the leader and main composer of the choir, as they fused indigenous Zulu songs and dances with South African isicathamiya, an a capella tradition that was frequently accompanied by a soft, shuffling style of dance.
The group soon became Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a name that was significant on several levels: Ladysmith represented their hometown, Black referenced the black oxen that were the strongest on the farm, and Mambazo (from the Zulu word for axe), symbolized the group’s ability to cut down the competition.
Following a radio performance in 1970, the group signed a recording contract, and in 1973 they released Africa’s first gold-selling album, “Amabutho.” They would achieve global recognition more than a decade later, after being recruited to sing on Paul Simon’s multi-million-selling “Graceland” album, in particular on Homeless, a song Shabalala co-wrote with Simon, based on the melody for a traditional Zulu wedding song.
Aside from Paul Simon, the group has also worked with famous music icons like Stevie Wonder and Dolly Parton. Their Grammy haul includes five awards and seventeen nominations, while the group reached number 15 in the UK charts with a cover of Swing Low Sweet Chariot, for the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
In 2014, Joseph Shabalala retired from active performance shortly after performing at a memorial concert for Nelson Mandela. However, he continued to teach traditional choral music, while four of his sons (and a grandson) continued his legacy within Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
According to band manager Majozi, the legendary musician was with his wife Thokozile Shabalala, in his final moments. The band was on a US tour when the news broke and has been left devastated since.
A tweet from their official Twitter handle @therealmambazo reads, “Our Father, our Teacher and most importantly our Father left us today for eternal peace. We celebrate and honour your kind heart and your extraordinary life. Through your music and the millions who you came in contact with, you shall live forever.”
Sources: BBC.com, DailyMaverick.co.za
