Miriam Makeba

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Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – September 8, 2008), better known as Mama Africa, was a South African musician, singer, actor, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights campaigner.

She was an advocate for apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa, having links to musical genres, jazz, jazz, and world music. Makeba was forced to work as a child after her father's death in Johannesburg and Xhosa.

She had a brief and possibly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer.

Her singing abilities had been evident as a child, and she began performing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and the Skylarks, an all-woman group, showcasing a mix of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music.

Makeba appeared in the 1959 anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa, which attracted her international attention, and resulted in her appearances in Venice, London, and New York City.

She encountered Harry Belafonte, an American singer who became a mentor and colleague in London.

Early years

Zenzile Miriam Makeba was born in 1932 in the black township of Prospect, near Johannesburg. Christina Makeba, her Swazi mother, was both a sangoma, or traditional healer, and a domestic servant. Caswell Makeba, her Xhosa father, was a teacher who died when she was six years old; she died as a teacher. Makeba later revealed that her mother had been warned that any future pregnancy could be deadly. Miriam and her mother are both unlikely to recover after a long labor and delivery. Miriam's grandmother, who was attending the birth, often mistook "uzenzile" - a Xhosa word that means "you brought this on yourself" to Miriam's mother, who inspired her to give her daughter the name "Zenzile."

When Makeba was eighteen years old, her mother was arrested and sentenced to six months in jail for selling umqombothi, a homemade beer made from malt and cornmeal. Miriam spent the first six months of her life in prison because she was unable to afford the small fine that was needed to avoid a prison term. Makeba performed in the choir of the Kilnerton Training Institute in Pretoria, an all-black Catholic primary school that she attended for eight years as an infant. Her talent for singing earned her praise at school. Makeba was baptized a Protestant and performed in church choirs in England, Xhosa, Sotho, and Zulu; she later said she learned to sing in English before she could speak the language.

When Makeba was a child, the family moved to the Transvaal. She was forced to find work after her father's death; she did domestic work; and worked as a nanny. At the time, she described herself as a shy person. Her mother was working with white families in Johannesburg and had to move away from her six children. Makeba and her grandmother and a large number of cousins in Pretoria lived for a few years. Makeba was influenced by her family's musical tastes; her mother performed many traditional instruments; and her elder brother collected records, including those of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald; and she taught Makeba songs. Her father played piano and his musical aptitude helped make Makeba's family leave what was seen as a risky career choice.

Makeba married James Kubay, a policeman in training who had her only child, Bongi Makeba, in 1950. Makeba was later diagnosed with breast cancer, and her husband, who had been reported to have murdered her, left her shortly afterwards, after a two-year marriage. She beat cervical cancer by hysterectomy a decade later.

Makeba began her musical career with the Cuban Brothers, a South African all-male close harmony group, with whom she performed covers of famous American songs. The Manhattan Brothers, a South African band that performed a mix of South African songs and pieces from famous African-American groups, joined the band shortly after. Makeba was the only female in the group. "Laku Tshoni Ilanga," her first hit with the Manhattan Brothers in 1953, she also established a national reputation as a singer. She formed the Skylarks, a new all-woman group that performed a blend of jazz and traditional South African melodies in 1956. The Sunbeams were also founded by Gallotone Records and were also known as the Sunbeams. Makeba appeared with the Skylarks when the Manhattan Brothers were traveling in another country; later, she travelled with the Manhattan Brothers. Makeba performed with Rhodesian-born singer Dorothy Masuka, whose Makeba followed, as well as Dolly Rathebe's. Several of the Skylarks' works from this period became extremely popular; music historian Rob Allingham later described the group as "true trendsetters," with harmonisation that had never been heard before." Makeba received no royalties from her service with the Skylarks.

Makeba met Nelson Mandela, then a young prosecutor, during his performance with the Manhattan Brothers in 1955; he later remembered the meeting and that he thought she was "going to be someone." Gallotone Records' "Lovely Lies," Makeba's first solo success, was replaced by the Xhosa lyric "You tell such lovely lies with your two lovely eyes." The record became the first South African record to chart on the United States Billboard Top 100 for the first time. Makeba was featured on the front cover of Drum magazine in 1957.

Makeba was the lead female role in the Broadway-inspired South African jazz opera King Kong in 1959, and Hugh Masekela was one of the cast members. The musical was seen to racially integrated audiences, raising her profile among white South Africans. She made a brief guest appearance in Come Back, Africa, an anti-apartheid film directed and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin in 1959. After seeing her on stage in the African Jazz and Variety show, on which Makeba appeared for 18 months, Rogosin cast her. The film incorporated elements of documentary and fantasy, and it had to be shot in secrecy as the government was supposed to be hostile to it. Makeba performed on stage and performed two songs: her appearance lasted four minutes. The cameo made a big splash on viewers, and Rogosin arranged a visa for her to attend the premiere of the film at Venice's twenty-fourth Venice Film Festival, where the film won the coveted Critics' Choice Award. Makeba's presence has been described as vital to the film as an emblem of cosmopolitan black identity that also identified with working-class black people due to the discussion in Zulu.

Makeba's participation in Comeback, Africa earned her international recognition, and she travelled to London and New York to perform. She discovered Harry Belafonte, a British singer who later became her mentor, in London, assisting her with her first solo recordings. "Pata Pata," a sequel to the famous Xhosa song "Qongqothwane," which would be released many years later, and a Xhosa song "Qongqothwane" by the Skylarks were among the items on her first appearance. Despite the fact that "Pata Pata"—described by a Musician magazine as a "groundbreaking Afropop gem"—became her most popular song, Makeba described it as "one of my most insignificant songs." When she was in England, she met Sonny Pillay, a South African ballad singer of Indian descent; they separated within a few months.

Makeba made her US music debut on November 1, 1959 on The Steve Allen Show in Los Angeles, which attracted a television audience of 60 million. The Village Vanguard's debut at the Village Vanguard came soon after; she performed in Xhosa and Zulu and performed a Yiddish folk song. Miles Davis and Duke Ellington were among the concert's audience; critical praise for her performance dominated the show. She first came to widespread and critical notice in jazz clubs, after which her fame soared. Belafonte, who had supported Makeba during her move to the United States, handled the logistics for her first performances. Makeba and other musicians and actors gathered in Greenwich Village when she first arrived in the United States. As was normal in her field, she suffered with financial instability and spent time as a babysitter for a time.

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