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Joseph Shabalala Vice Radio Bantu

Joseph Shabalala Vice Radio Bantu

the 1987 Grammy for of the Year. Ladysmith Black Mambazou, too, would Swansongs win Grammy Awards—five in all, the last in 2018 for Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration as Best Album. They would also collaborate with the likes of , , and , and appear in the filmMoonwalker . They earned a Tony nomination for their score for the 1993 Broadway play The Song of Jacob Zulu, in which they performed as a chorus. And that same year, they accompanied to when he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize. Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxo- veni Mshengu Bigboy was born on Aug. 28, 1941, on a white-owned farm near the town of Ladysmith, out in the hills of KwaZulu-Natal, where his parents, Jon- athan Mluwane Shabalala and Nomandla Elina Shabalala, worked. Joseph, the eldest of eight children, left school at 12, after his father died. As a teenager, he moved to to work in a textile factory and sang in local vocal groups—the Durban Choir Swansongs and The Highlanders. In 1959, he formed Ezimnyama, which he renamed . They featured several of Shabalala’s brothers and cousins singing. The and music that the all-male group sang originally emerged from the mining camps and industrial worksites created by migrant workers toiling far from home. Singing late into the 1947-2019 night, they established harmony singing contests to relieve their after-work boredom. These contests played a significant role in the development of traditional choral music 1941-2020 in . And Ladysmith Black Mambazo were competitive from the start. Possibly too good, as they were eventually banned from competitions for winning too frequently. In 1970, they began singing on radio programs broadcast on the Zulu ser- vice Radio Bantu. Such exposure caught the oseph Shabalala, founder of the (1973) and would record numer- attention of South Africa’s oldest indepen- Grammy Award-winning South ous national gold and platinum discs, their dent , Gallo, which eventually African all-male, a cappella group harmony singing gained widespread inter- released Amabutho. It was followed by a LadysmithJ Black Mamboza, died in Life national recognition for their collaboration further two dozen successful before Eugene Marais Hospital in Pretoria, Feb. with on his blockbuster album Graceland. 11, from long-term complications attributed Graceland. They would feature prominently Paul Simon first heard traditional South to back surgery, aged 78. on two of the album’s key tracks, Homeless African music on a cassette: Gumboots: While Ladysmith Black Mambazo were and Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes, Jive Hits, Volume II. By request, the first black group in South Africa to both co-written by Shabalala. Graceland Black South African producer Roger earn gold status for sales of their debut LP sold 16 million copies worldwide and won Steffens sent Simon further tapes including

10 penguin eggs: spring 2020 Nigeria’s King Sunny Ade and, crucially, father, Jim, played the accordion. And Arty Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s. Simon grew initially followed in his father’s footsteps infatuated by Ladysmith’s uplifting vocal and could knock out a reel by age five. harmonies. When he flew to South Africa to His mother, however, bought him a work with local musicians, Shabalala was at the age of 11, and he practiced endlessly, invited to the studio. Their guided by English guitarist Bert Weedon’s rapport was instant. When the two men em- Play in a Day tutorial books that influenced braced, Shabalala would later say it was the the likes of Eric Clapton, , first time he had ever hugged a white man. and Ray Davies. In the wake of the success of Graceland, Tuning into American forces radio broad- Ladysmith released Shaka Zulu (1987), casts from throughout the ’50s, which Simon produced. It earned a Gram- McGlynn was drawn to jazz and R&B, most my for Best Traditional Folk Recording. notably guitarist Wes Montgomery and Such exposure shot the group to interna- tenor saxophonist Jean-Baptiste (Illinois) tional fame on the then nascent world music Jacquet. scene. David Onley At age 15, he earned a living performing But tragedy wasn’t far behind as with various Irish showbands—The Melody still gripped South Africa. In 1991, Shaba- Men, The Plattermen, Brian Call and The lala’s brother, Headman, who sang bass in ing, and the state of the world. Buckaroos… They largely covered the Ladysmith, was shot and killed by a white He released 32 albums, including outings current pop tunes of the day on the lucrative guard who was convicted of culpable ho- with The X-Rays and The Nashville Jug dancehall circuit around and the micide only to serve a three-year sentence Band. Olney died on Jan. 18, the way all UK. He taught himself to play the pedal under house arrest. Shabalala’s wife of 30 performers dream of dying—onstage sing- steel guitar. years, Nellie, who led her own all-female ing, his guitar in his hands. After he passed, But by the late ’70s, he returned to his group, Women of Mambazo, was also shot he didn’t drop his guitar or fall off the stool traditional roots and recorded McGlynn’s dead outside Durban in 2002. He faced fur- —a true professional to the end. Fancy—the first album to feature Irish ther tragedy in 2004 when another brother, – j. poet traditional tunes played predominantly on former Ladysmith Black Mambazo singer an acoustic guitar. Ben Shabalala, was also fatally shot. It struck a note with the various members Joseph Shabalala retired in 2014. Lady- Arty McGlynn of and , who had smith Black Mambazo continue to tour. Pioneering Irish Guitarist already taken in – Roddy Campbell Born 1944 exciting new directions. He would perform onsidered one of the finest acoustic and record with numerous members of these Cguitarists ever performing traditional two bands. David Olney Irish music, Arty McGlynn died Dec.18, Prolific Americana Songwriter after a long illness. He was 75. While he en- Born 1948 joyed a long and storied career as a soloist, avid Olney moved to Nashville in and a fruitful parternership with his wife, the early ’70s, intent on making a fiddler , McGlynn performed careerD as a country singer and songwriter. or recorded with virtually a Who’s Who of Like his pal , Olney’s Irish music: Van Morrison, Enya, Planxty, quirky, poetic lyrics and hard-to-pigeonhole , , , style made him a hard sell, although he did , , Four Men and a get songs recorded by Emmylou Harris, Dog, Liam O’Flynn… His pioneering 1979 , and . solo album McGlynn’s Fancy is considered Critics thought his 1995 album High, one of the most influential albums in tradi- Wide and Lonesome—released just as the tional Irish circles. Americana boom was taking off—would Born Aug. 7, 1944, McGlynn was make him a star. Its hard-hitting lyrics, raised in remote Botera, a few miles west dark melodies, and the presence of Garth of Omagh, . He grew up Hudson, Rick Danko, Rodney Crowell, and surrounded by a family of traditional other heavy hitters made it one of his best musicians. His mother, Mary, played the efforts. But despite relentless touring he . Her father, Felix Kearney, was a never got the attention he deserved. well-known local poet and songwriter, and He gave witty interviews, willing to go on her two brothers, Feely and Arthur Kearney, Arty McGlynn at length about music, the art of songwrit- were both fine fiddle players. McGlynn’s

penguin eggs: spring 2020 11 Edmonton Festival

August 6-9, 2020

www.edmontonfolkfest.org

••• 1tei.1 (dmonton EDMONTON United THE WESTIN 6'1~ @ JOURNAL O Rentals Canada £DMONTON ALBERTA ml EDMONTON·~· LOTFkYFL."\/D ...... Iii\\ His credits would include Paul Brady’s waii in 1934. He started playing Hawaiian seminal album Hard Station. Van Morrison, music in high school with his friend Dave too, took notice and McGlynn appeared on Guard, who became the Trio’s player Morrison’s album’s Inarticulate Speech of and second guitarist. the Heart (1986), Avalon Sunset (1989, and They moved to California to attend Days Like This (1995). college, soon meeting guitarist/percus- Still, in 1986, McGlynn joined the all-star sionist . The unnamed trio lineup in Patrick Street, which included started performing bawdy songs to make , , and . beer money and meet women, but after McGlynn would record four studio albums meeting publicist they turned with before leaving after All in pro’ as and became the Good Time (1993). As a producer he saw to rage of the emerging folk scene, adding a Four Men & A Dog’s debut Barking Mad show-business polish to traditional music. Buddy Cage (1991)—an album that Folk Roots Maga- They signed with Capital Records in 1958. zine voted Folk Album of The Year–the first Their first single, Tom Dooley, a Civil time an Irish band won this honour. War-era song about murder and jealousy, McGlynn would go on to perform occa- won them a gold record. Although acous- Buddy Cage sionally with his wife, Nollaig Casey, and tically based, they played rock, pop, and Storied Canadian Pedal Steel Player record two albums, Lead the Knave (1989) world music, landing 14 albums in the Top Born 1946 and Causeway (1995). More recently, he 10, five of them No. 1 bestsellers. Guard oronto-born pedal steel guitarist enjoyed playing with The Heartstring Quar- left the Trio in 1961 and was replaced by Buddy Cage, whose talents graced tet, with his wife, her sister harpist Máire Ní , who later wrote Daydream albumsT by such artists as and Chathasaidh, and guitarist Chris Newman. Believer for and recorded the , and who played an integral – Roddy Campbell hit albums (1969) and role in the evolution of the psychedelic, Bombs Away Dream Babies (1979). country-rock band New Riders of the Purple The Kingston Trio broke up in 1967 as the Sage (NRPS), died Feb. 5 in a Connecticut Kingston Trio Lynchpin initial, urban folk revival petered out, but hospice, aged 73. Born 1934 Shane soon reformed the Trio with various Born Feb. 18, 1946, Cage took up the ped- ob Shane gained international fame sidemen. He retired from touring in 2004, al steel in his teens and clearly excelled. He as the lead singer and guitarist of but continued overseeing various incarna- would play on Murray’s first four albums TheB Kingston Trio, the most commercially tions of the band until the last months of his including her debut, What About Me (1968). successful act of the American folk life. He died in hospice on Jan. 26, 2020, at And when Ian and put togeth- revival. the age of 85. er their pioneering electric country band, Shane was born on The Big Island of Ha- – j. poet The Great Speckled Bird, in 1969 they re- cruited the services of Cage. Performing on the Tour—a rock caravan that crossed Canada by train in 1970, with artists such as , The Band, and the , Cage caught the ear of the Dead’s , who recommended him to the fledgling NRPS. Cage would perform with NRPS from 1972 until 1982, and then intermittently until his death. Together they released 21 albums, the last being Thanksgiving in (2019). As a session musician, Cage performed with the likes of Sly Stone and appeared on such diverse albums as Bob Dylan’s (1975), Slipknot’s Slip Into Somewhere (1997), and George Hamilton IV’s My North Country Home (2011). Cage was diagnosed with multiple my- The Kingston Trio,1959: L to R: eloma in 2012 and suffered two strokes, in , Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds June 2017 and February 2018. – Roddy Campbell

penguin eggs: spring 2020 13

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