Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. He was born in

Alexandra, Gauteng Alexandra, informally abbreviated to Alex, is a Township (South Africa), township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is located next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. He left South Africa for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, in the 1960s, together with his wife, singer

Letta Mbulu Letta Mbulu (born 23 August 1942) is a South African jazz singer who has been active since the 1960s. Biography Born and raised in Soweto, South Africa, she has been active as a singer since the 1960s. While still a teenager she toured with th ...

. Among the artists with whom he worked are

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 ...

Jonas Gwangwa Jonas Mosa Gwangwa (19 October 1937 – 23 January 2021) was a South African jazz musician, songwriter and producer. He was an important figure in South African jazz for over 40 years. Career Gwangwa was born in Orlando East, Soweto. He firs ...

Hotep Galeta Hotep Idris Galeta (7 June 1941 – 3 November 2010) was a South African jazz pianist and educator. His legal name at birth was Cecil Galeta, but according to local custom he was more commonly known as a child and young man as Cecil Barnard, his ...

, Miriam Makeba,

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, Nina Simone and

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

. Semenya also arranged the Swahili chant in the intro to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Liberian Girl "Liberian Girl" is the ninth single released from American singer Michael Jackson's 1987 album '' Bad''. The song was written as early as 1983 and was among those considered for the Jacksons' ''Victory'' album. It was reworked and rewritten for ' ...

" from the 1987 ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

'' album.

Awards

* 2015: South African Afro Music Awards * 2015: ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Music * 1986:

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

for the 1985 film ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

''; shared the nomination with nine other composers.

Discography

*''The Very Best of Caiphus Semenya'' (Columbia, 1996) *''Woman Got a Right to Be'' (1996) *''Streams Today... Rivers Tomorrow'' (Munjale, 1984) *''Listen to the Wind'' (CBS, 1982) With Quincy Jones * ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'' (A&M, 1977)

References

External links

Unisa honours the love story of Letta Mbulu and Caiphus Semenya
* 1939 births Living people South African jazz composers Musicians from Johannesburg {{Jazz-musician-stub