Mama Afrika, Miriam Makeba, Dies at 76
NOVEMBER 10, 2008 TAGS:
Miriam Makeba, the singer who lived in exile from her native South Africa for over thirty years, often told her family, “I will sing until the last day of my life.” She did just that. Makeba, whose voice carried with it the pain and joy of Apartheid-era South Africa, died after collapsing on stage at a performance in Italy. She was 76.
The stage was her adopted home. On Sunday Makeba was singing at a concert in solidarity of two Ghanaian immigrants shot to death in the Italian town of Castel Volturno.
It was on stage that Makeba crafted her jazz inspired melodies that emboldened the folk rhythms of South African township life with her ebullient spirit. It was also on stage that Makeba collaborated with other luminous musical performers like Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Nina Simone and dizzy Gillespie.
She was the first African woman to win a Grammy, for the 1966 record "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba." She won the Grammy nearly a decade after the Apartheid South African government refused to let her back in to the country after she appeared in the 1959 documentary, “Come Back, Africa.” Nelson Mandela, invited her back in 1990. Mandela released a statement upon hearing of Makeba’s death saying:
"Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."
After a string of farewell concerts three years ago, Makeba, despite being officially retired, continued to perform. Her perserverance and the sheer joy of her music will surely live on and be a testament to the resilience of the South African people.
--
Performing with Paul Simon in 1987
The stage was her adopted home. On Sunday Makeba was singing at a concert in solidarity of two Ghanaian immigrants shot to death in the Italian town of Castel Volturno.
It was on stage that Makeba crafted her jazz inspired melodies that emboldened the folk rhythms of South African township life with her ebullient spirit. It was also on stage that Makeba collaborated with other luminous musical performers like Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Nina Simone and dizzy Gillespie.
She was the first African woman to win a Grammy, for the 1966 record "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba." She won the Grammy nearly a decade after the Apartheid South African government refused to let her back in to the country after she appeared in the 1959 documentary, “Come Back, Africa.” Nelson Mandela, invited her back in 1990. Mandela released a statement upon hearing of Makeba’s death saying:
"Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."
After a string of farewell concerts three years ago, Makeba, despite being officially retired, continued to perform. Her perserverance and the sheer joy of her music will surely live on and be a testament to the resilience of the South African people.
--
Performing with Paul Simon in 1987
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