Hugh Masekela
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Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and " Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass". Early life Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was born in the township of KwaGuqa in Witbank (now called Emalahleni), South Africa, to Thomas Selena Masekela, who was a health inspector and sculptor and his wife, Pauline Bowers Masekela, a social worker. His younger sister Barbara Masekela is a poet, educator and ANC activist. As a child, he began singing and playing piano and was largely raised by his grandmother, who ran an illegal bar for miners. At the age of 14, after seeing the 1950 film '' Young Man with a Horn'' (in which Kirk Douglas plays a character modelled on ...
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Witbank
Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested. The city is known for its coal-mining in the surrounding region. Witbank was renamed to Emalahleni meaning the ''place of coal'' in 2006 by the government of Mpumalanga, matching the municipality. Witbank was founded in 1890 and early attempts to exploit the coal deposits failed until the railway from Pretoria reached the area in 1894. It was proclaimed a town in 1903 and became a municipality in 1914. There are many stories about the city and its origination but the top story would be the arrival of Winston Churchill at the nearby Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Colliery during his escape from Boer imprisonment in Pretoria, on his way to Delagoa Bay (later Lourenço Marques, and then Maputo, in Mozambique). So ...
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Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz. Biography Casablanca was founded in 1973 by former Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart, who named the label in homage to the 1942 film ''Casablanca''. He partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris and Buck Reingold in 1973, and was based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after they left Buddah and secured financing from Warner Bros. Records to start the venture. Casablanca became one of the most successful American labels of the 1970s, signing and releasing albums by such acts as Kiss, Donna Summer, Village People, Cher, Lipps Inc. (with lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson), and Parliament (featuring George Clinton). In 1976, the label merged with indie-film c ...
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KwaGuqa
KwaGuqa is a township west of the industrial town of eMalahleni in the South African province of Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It .... References {{Nkangala District Municipality Populated places in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality ...
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Grazing In The Grass
"Grazing in the Grass" is an instrumental composed by Philemon Hou and first recorded by the South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Released in the United States as a single in 1968, it followed United States trumpeter Herb Alpert's vocal performance of "This Guy's in Love with You" to the top spot on the Hot 100 chart, ranking it as the 18th biggest hit of the year. The song also reached #15 Adult Contemporary. Masekela included the song in his albums '' Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela'' (2001), ''Still Grazing'' (2004), and '' Live at the Market Theatre'' (2006). Masekela’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018. A vocal version by The Friends of Distinction, with lyrics by band member Harry Elston, was a US chart hit in 1969. "Grazing in the Grass" has been recorded by many other musicians. Hugh Masekela recording The music was inspired by an earlier novelty recording, "Mr. Bull No. 4", by Freddie Gumbi, which Masekela had heard in Zamb ...
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List Of Billboard Hot 100 Number-one Singles Of 1968
Here are the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot 100 number one hits of 1968. That year, 10 acts hit number one for the first time, such as John Fred and His Playboy Band, The Lemon Pipers, Paul Mauriat, Otis Redding, Bobby Goldsboro, Archie Bell & the Drells, Herb Alpert, Hugh Masekela, Jeannie C. Riley, and Marvin Gaye. Otis Redding, after his death in late 1967, was the first artist to hit number one posthumously. Chart history Number-one artists See also *1968 in music *List of Billboard number-one singles *List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1968 Sources *''Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition'' () *''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition'' () *''Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Sixties'' () *Additional information obtained can be verified within ''Billboard's'online archive servicesand print editions of the magazine. References {{Top 100 1968 record charts 1968 The year was highlighte ...
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Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)
"Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)", also known as "Bring Him Back Home", is an anthemic anti-apartheid protest song written by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was released as the first track of his 1987 album '' Tomorrow''. It was recorded in 1986 when Masekela was in exile from the apartheid regime of South Africa. The melody of the song is buoyant, containing a number of powerful chords and trumpet riffs. The lyrics of the song demand the release of Black South African leader Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned by the White South African government on Robben Island since 1962. The song became enormously popular, and turned into an unofficial anthem of the anti-apartheid movement. It became one of Masekela's most performed live songs. It was later used as a part of the official soundtrack to the documentary film '' Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony''. The song was included in the 1994 live album '' Hope'' and in the 2001 collection '' Grazing in the G ...
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Soweto Blues
"Soweto Blues" is a protest song written by Hugh Masekela and performed by Miriam Makeba. The song is about the Soweto uprising that occurred in 1976, following the decision by the apartheid government of South Africa to make Afrikaans a medium of instruction at school. The uprising was forcefully put down by the police, leading to the death of between 176 and 700 people. The song was released in 1977 as part of Masekela's album '' You Told Your Mama Not to Worry''. The song became a staple at Makeba's live concerts, and is considered a notable example of music in the movement against apartheid. Background In 1976 the apartheid government of South Africa decided to implement the use of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in all schools instead of English. In response, high school students began a series of protests on the morning of 16 June that came to be known as the Soweto Uprising. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in respon ...
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Music In The Movement Against Apartheid
The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority. Opposition to apartheid manifested in a variety of ways, including boycotts, non-violent protests, and armed resistance. Music played a large role in the movement against apartheid within South Africa, as well as in international opposition to apartheid. The impacts of songs opposing apartheid included raising awareness, generating support for the movement against apartheid, building unity within this movement, and "presenting an alternative vision of culture in a future democratic South Africa." The lyrical content and tone of this music reflected the atmosphere that it was composed in. The protest music of the 1950s, soon after apartheid had begun, explicitly addressed peoples' grievances over pass laws and forced relocation. Following the Sharpeville mas ...
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South African Jazz
South African jazz is the jazz of South Africa. History The jazz scene in South Africa grew much as it did in the United States. Through performances in nightclubs, dances, and other venues, musicians had the opportunity to play music often. Musicians such as singer Sathima Bea Benjamin learned by going to nightclubs and jam sessions and waiting for opportunities to offer their talents. One unique aspect of the South African jazz scene was the appearance of individuals imitating popular artists as closely as possible because the real musician wasn't there to perform in the area. For instance, one could find a "Cape Town Dizzy Gillespie" who would imitate not only the music, but the look and style of Dizzy. This practice created a strong environment to nurture some artists who would eventually leave South Africa and become legitimate contributors to the international jazz scene. One of the first major bebop groups in South Africa in the 1950s was the Jazz Epistles. This group cons ...
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Earl Sweatshirt
Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, but soon changed his name when Tyler, the Creator invited him to join his alternative hip hop collective Odd Future in late 2009. He gained recognition and critical praise for his debut mixtape, ''Earl'', which he released in March 2010, at the young age of 16. Shortly after its release, his mother sent him to a boarding school in Samoa for at-risk teens for a year and a half. He was unable to record music during his tenure there, but returned to Los Angeles in February 2012, just before his eighteenth birthday. Kgositsile rejoined Odd Future and started producing new music, releasing his debut studio album, '' Doris'', in August 2013. His second album, ''I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside'', followed in March 2015, and his third, '' ...
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Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel with Art Garfunkel. Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in the Queens, borough of Queens in New York City. He began performing with his schoolfriend Art Garfunkel in 1956 when they were still in their early teens. After limited success, the pair reunited after an electrified version of their song "The Sound of Silence" became a hit in 1966. Simon & Garfunkel recorded five albums together featuring songs mostly written by Simon, including the hits "Mrs. Robinson", "America (Simon & Garfunkel song), America", "Bridge over Troubled Water (song), Bridge over Troubled Water" and "The Boxer". After Simon & Garfunkel split in 1970, Simon recorded three acclaimed albums over the following five years, all of w ...
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Miriam Makeba
Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. Born in Johannesburg to Swazi people, Swazi and Xhosa people, Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks (South African vocal group), the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music. In 1959, Makeba had a brief r ...
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