Post by Rob Durkee on Nov 10, 2008 23:03:06 GMT -5
BY ROCKIN' ROBIN
Miriam Makeba, who had the 1967 top 40 hit "Pata Pata" and who could easily rank second in importance only to Nelson Mandela in the fight to overcome South Africa's apartheid policies, died Sunday, November 9, 2008. She was 76. According to the Reuters news service, she died of a heart attack not long after a concert against organized crime in the southern town of Baia Verde, Italy. Efforts to save her life after rushing her to a clinic in the town of Castel Volturno were futile.
Makeba's publicist, Mark Lechat, said she'd been suffering from arthritis in recent years.
Makeba overcame being exiled from South Africa for over 30 years and having her music banned for about the same amount of time. She would achieve such lavish nicknames as "Mama Africa" and "The Empress Of African Song." Mandela, the subject of a Makeba song that demanded his release from prison, called her "South Africa's first lady of song. Despite her tremendous sacrifice and the pain she felt to leave behind her beloved family and her country when she went into exile, she continued to make us proud as she used her worldwide fame to focus attention on the abomination of apartheid."
According to writer Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, Makeba's outspoken views came to a head in 1960 during a four-week trip to the United States. When she reported to a consulate in Chicago to renew her passport, the consul stamped her passport "Invalid," meaning she was forbidden to re-enter South Africa. When she spoke out against apartheid in an appearance before the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid in 1963, the South African government banned her records. However, Makeba would eventually resettle in South Africa around 1992. That was the year she made a key appearance in the movie "Sarafina!," which was about schoolchildren involved in the Soweto riots.
In 1967, Makeba's "Pata Pata," a neat-tempoed cha-cha kind of song, reached #13 on the Cash Box pop chart in late 1967. Her followup would be her only other trip to the Cash Box pop chart as "Malayisha" would reach #64 in early 1968. She was also famous for the novelty record, "The Click Song."
Makeba was very bit as famous for her two husbands as she was for her music. According to Joel Whitburn's Record Research Books, she was married to Hugh Masekela from 1964-66 and to black activist Stokely Carmichael from 1968-78. Masekela was best known for his summer of 1968 #1 trumpet-driven instrumental version of "Grazing In The Grass." When Makeba and Carmichael toured Cuba in the late 1960's, USA labels like Reprise cancelled their recording contracts with her.
Makeba's popularity dates back to 1958, when Harry Belafonte discovered her singing in the documentary film, "Come Back, Africa" and invited her to join him on a world tour. Then came appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" (then hosted by Steve Allen) helped make her an international superstar.
Makeba made a farewell appearance in Los Angeles at the World Music Festival in West L.A. in 2005.
When her banishment was starting to dissolve when she returned to South Africa in 1990, Makeba insisted she wasn't necessarily the symbol of political resistance. "I'm not a politician," she stressed. "I'm a singer. Long ago, they said, 'that one, she sings politics' but I don't sing politics. I merely sing the truth."
Miriam Makeba, who had the 1967 top 40 hit "Pata Pata" and who could easily rank second in importance only to Nelson Mandela in the fight to overcome South Africa's apartheid policies, died Sunday, November 9, 2008. She was 76. According to the Reuters news service, she died of a heart attack not long after a concert against organized crime in the southern town of Baia Verde, Italy. Efforts to save her life after rushing her to a clinic in the town of Castel Volturno were futile.
Makeba's publicist, Mark Lechat, said she'd been suffering from arthritis in recent years.
Makeba overcame being exiled from South Africa for over 30 years and having her music banned for about the same amount of time. She would achieve such lavish nicknames as "Mama Africa" and "The Empress Of African Song." Mandela, the subject of a Makeba song that demanded his release from prison, called her "South Africa's first lady of song. Despite her tremendous sacrifice and the pain she felt to leave behind her beloved family and her country when she went into exile, she continued to make us proud as she used her worldwide fame to focus attention on the abomination of apartheid."
According to writer Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, Makeba's outspoken views came to a head in 1960 during a four-week trip to the United States. When she reported to a consulate in Chicago to renew her passport, the consul stamped her passport "Invalid," meaning she was forbidden to re-enter South Africa. When she spoke out against apartheid in an appearance before the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid in 1963, the South African government banned her records. However, Makeba would eventually resettle in South Africa around 1992. That was the year she made a key appearance in the movie "Sarafina!," which was about schoolchildren involved in the Soweto riots.
In 1967, Makeba's "Pata Pata," a neat-tempoed cha-cha kind of song, reached #13 on the Cash Box pop chart in late 1967. Her followup would be her only other trip to the Cash Box pop chart as "Malayisha" would reach #64 in early 1968. She was also famous for the novelty record, "The Click Song."
Makeba was very bit as famous for her two husbands as she was for her music. According to Joel Whitburn's Record Research Books, she was married to Hugh Masekela from 1964-66 and to black activist Stokely Carmichael from 1968-78. Masekela was best known for his summer of 1968 #1 trumpet-driven instrumental version of "Grazing In The Grass." When Makeba and Carmichael toured Cuba in the late 1960's, USA labels like Reprise cancelled their recording contracts with her.
Makeba's popularity dates back to 1958, when Harry Belafonte discovered her singing in the documentary film, "Come Back, Africa" and invited her to join him on a world tour. Then came appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" (then hosted by Steve Allen) helped make her an international superstar.
Makeba made a farewell appearance in Los Angeles at the World Music Festival in West L.A. in 2005.
When her banishment was starting to dissolve when she returned to South Africa in 1990, Makeba insisted she wasn't necessarily the symbol of political resistance. "I'm not a politician," she stressed. "I'm a singer. Long ago, they said, 'that one, she sings politics' but I don't sing politics. I merely sing the truth."