Miriam Makeba sadly passed away this month. She was 76 years old.
Makeba was a wonderful singer from South Africa. She was born in Johannesburg in 1932. She started singing in a choir as a child and by the age of 22 she was a professional singer.
In 1959, she appeared in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa. That launched her career as an international singer.
Makeba sang many different types of songs. Some of her most interesting music focused on Xhosa and Zulu songs.
Here you can hear her singing one of her most popular songs called The Click Song. It’s traditionally sung in parts of South Africa when people get married.
(I don’t know how long the YouTube video will remain embedded, please let me know if you see the video as a broken link. If it is, go out and find a recording – it’s well worth it!)
-Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm and is filed under African Children's Songs, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Jazz, Languages, Mama Lisa, Miriam Makeba, South Africa, South African Children's Songs, Xhosa, YouTube. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
2 Responses to “RIP Miriam Makeba – She Was a Wonderful South African Singer”
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November 18th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Mama Lisa,
I’ve been haunted by a song from my childhood for days and it’s dringing me nuts! Its goes something like this….
Mama Makita, Mama Makite, Mama Makita do you have’a any money, to buy papaya and a bannan……
Can you help a crazy mother out?
Thanks Christi
November 18th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
That’s Mama Paquita. Click the link for the lyrics!
-Mama Lisa